The federally mandated recall of several General Motors trucks because of a potential fuel leak that could result in an engine compartment fire may have come too late for one California family.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on August 8 ordered a recall that included the 2004 GMC Yukon XL.
In announcing the recall, which includes 38,439 vehicles, NHTSA warned that "a fuel rail pulse damper retainer clip that can fracture resulting in a fuel leak which is near an ignition source in the engine compartment."
A little less than a month earlier in Newbury Park, California, Veronica woke up to the sound of a horn blaring from inside her garage.
"When it would not stop, I started to walk to a window to see what was going on. I realized that the sound was coming from my garage," she told ConsumerAffairs.com. "I opened the door to the garage and saw the interior of my 2004 Yukon XL engulfed in flames and smoke coming out from the gap between the windshield and the hood of the car."
Her two sons were sleeping in bedrooms above the garage but Veronica was able to save the children and the family dog. "Help arrived before the fire spread to the rest of the home," she said
GMC, on the other hand, has refused any responsibility for the fire despite the NHTSA recall.
"We called GMC that same day thinking that they would want to see the car as soon as possible. Instead, they told us they would get back to us in 48 hours," Veronica told us.
She described the GMC response to the fire that almost consumed her house as indifference.
"We were on the phone with many different departments, at one point speaking to Jackie Vanburg who is an assistant to Rick Wagner," she said. Wagner is the chairman of General Motors.
When GM finally contacted Veronica she was told, "If we felt GMC was at fault we could have the car towed at our expense to them and they would take a look at it."
The California family hired a fire inspector instead to investigate and the case is still pending.
