General Motors Issues Recall for Chevy Cruze Due to Fuel Leak Risk

General Motors has issued a recall for 112,000 Chevrolet Cruze compact cars after the risk of fuel tank ruptures in rear-end collisions or rollovers was discovered. A sales freeze has also been issued to GM dealerships.

Affected vehicles are said to include those made from the 2016 model year through the 2018 model year, specifically Cruze LS models with a gasoline engine and no spare tire, with a re-inflation kit in its place. 

As a result of being rear-ended or rolling over, the fuel tank evaporative system pressure sensor may be damaged, and permit leakage, putting occupants in danger of fire if sources of heat and oxygen are also present. No known accidents in which this leak has presented itself have occurred; the recall is precautionary. 

GM invites owners of affected Cruzes to bring their vehicles in for service to address the problem, which involves the installation of a lock ring to keep the sensor securely in its place. As with any recall service, owners will not be charged.

A similar recall was issued in November of 2017, with a sensor fault in the fuel tanks of GM's heavy pickup trucks increasing the risk of fires from overfilled tanks, according to The Detroit Free Press. Despite these recalls, GM vehicles appear only twice in the top 10 most-recalled vehicles countered by equal numbers of its products making the least-recalled list. 

Rival Big Three marque Fiat Chrysler Automotive made up four of the top 10 vehicles, with the situation for FCA only worsening as it has recalled almost 4.9 million vehicles in the past week due to a fire risk in the Jeep Cherokee and a colossal cruise control recall affecting over 4.8 million vehicles.