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GM tells owners not to use SUV wipers due to fire risk

General Motors is recalling 31,685 examples of the 2016 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia because a short circuit in the windshield wiper motor can potentially lead to a fire. Due to the danger, the company is asking owners not to use the wipers until the problem is fixed, according to The Detroit Free Press citing the Associated Press. A manufacturing defect in the wiper motor cover means that the electrical terminals can come into contact and cause a short. The part could "melt, smoke, or catch fire," according to a statement from GM. The company will get them fixed immediately, and dealers will replace the cover. If there's bad weather at the time the owner specifies to get the recall work completed, the automaker will come pick up the crossovers. Depending on parts availability, the automaker will supply a rental car for customers, as well. The issue was discovered at the factory. According to the company's statement, only 6,405 actually made it to customers, and they were notified immediately by overnight letter. The rest were in dealer stock. The affected crossovers carry build dates between August 18, 2015 and September 24, 2015. Of those, there are 29,295 in the US and 1,073 in Canada. GM Statement: General Motors has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it will recall approximately 29,295 2016 model year Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia SUVs in the U.S. because the front windshield wiper motor may overheat when in use because of a manufacturing defect. In some cases, the front windshield wiper motor cover may melt, smoke or catch fire. The approximately 6,405 customers who have taken delivery of these vehicles were notified by overnight letter and are urged to contact a GM dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service appointment. These customers should not use the front windshield wipers until they have been repaired. If weather conditions prevent driving the vehicle without using the windshield wipers, GM will arrange to pick up the vehicle for servicing. If repair parts are unavailable, GM will provide a rental car at no cost until parts become available. The total population, including Canada, Mexico and exports, is approximately 31,685. About 25,280 of these vehicles are in dealer stock and will not be sold until repairs are made.

2016 Chevy Colorado Duramax gets 31 mpg highway

The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Duramax and its similarly diesel-powered GMC Canyon sibling are the most fuel-efficient new trucks on the market in America. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 31 miles per gallon highway, 22 mpg city, and 25 mpg combined for two-wheel-drive Colorado and Canyon diesels. That's just good enough to take the pickup fuel-economy title from the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE, which carries EPA estimates of 29 mpg highway, 21 mpg city, and 24 mpg combined. Four-wheel-drive models offer slightly lower economy figures of 29/20/23, respectively. Drivers can cover quite some distance, too – the GM twins' 21-gallon tanks mean a maximum range of 651 miles. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Diesel's reputation may be somewhat tarnished in the US after Volkswagen's emissions scandal, but Chevy wants to assure potential customers that there are no tricks with the Colorado's figures. The pickup's engine features NOx-reducing tech like exhaust gas recirculation, and the EPA and California Air Resources Board recently chose the truck to take the additional step of real-world emissions tests. The 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder with 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque had no problems with the more stringent evaluation, and "the agency expressed no issues or concerns," according to the company's statement. The diesel Colorado goes on sale this fall, and the Duramax costs $3,730 over a similarly equipped V6 model. We've gone ahead and included dueling press releases from both Chevy and GMC below for your reading pleasure. Related Video: CHEVROLET COLORADO DIESEL: AMERICA'S MOST FUEL EFFICIENT PICKUP 2015-11-09 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive model offers EPA-estimated 31 mpg highway Up to 7,700 pounds of trailering when properly equipped DETROIT – Chevrolet today confirmed that the 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive with the Duramax turbo-diesel will be the most fuel efficient pickup in America, offering an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 31 mpg highway fuel economy. The EPA-estimated highway fuel economy for 2016 Colorado four-wheel drive diesel is 29 mpg. The EPA has issued a Certificate of Conformity for the Chevrolet Colorado Duramax diesel. The agency expressed no issues or concerns following its recent extensive testing and evaluation of the emission control system on the Colorado Duramax diesel.

GM's MPG overstatement could affect 2 million vehicles

Late last week, GM admitted that three of its large SUVs fuel economy window stickers did not match their actual efficiency ratings, and so the vehicles couldn't be sold. The stickers on the 2016 Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave said their ratings were one to two miles per gallon better than they should have been. Officially, the number of affected vehicles sits at about 60,000. But Consumer Reports makes a good point: what's up with all of the previous model year SUVs that are basically the same vehicle? To wit: the 2016 model year vehicles are not substantially different than the 2015 or the 2014, or even going all the way back to 2007. On the EPA's fuel economy website, all of these older models will "have better stated fuel economy numbers than the new vehicles in GM's dealerships," Consumer Reports noted. CR's best point, and the one that makes the 60,000 number potentially grow to 2 million if all of the vehicles built on this platform are affected, is that "[i]t seems unlikely that the company would change the powertrain on these carryover models so late in their model cycles in a way that would cause a dramatic, negative impact on fuel economy." GM says that earlier model year SUVs are not affected and the EPA did not respond to CR's question about the potential for more discrepancies. We've seen automakers reverse course before, so if GM has to come out with a mea culpa soon, don't be surprised. GM is rushing corrected stickers to dealers so that the SUVs can be sold again, but a fix for the already-sold vehicles could be trickier to solve. Related Video: Related Gallery 2013 GMC Acadia View 16 Photos News Source: Consumer Reports Government/Legal Green Buick Chevrolet GMC Fuel Efficiency mpg gmc acadia chevy traverse