In a statement released Thursday, General Motors said its investigation of the ignition switch recall is ongoing, following an NBC News report that GM engineers found a way to stop ignition switches from shutting off nine years ago, but made a “business decision” not to order the partial fix to a problem that has now been linked to a dozen deaths.
"While this is happening, we are doing what we can now to ensure our customers' safety and peace of mind," the statement read. "We want our customers to know that today's GM is committed to fixing this problem in a manner that earns their trust."
Certain GM cars are vulnerable to shutting off when their keys are bumped by drivers or stressed by heavy keychains, a problem the automaker cited in recalling 1.6 million vehicles last month.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its own investigations of Cobalt crashes where airbags did not deploy on three separate occasions produced inconclusive results.
"In this case, the data available to NHTSA at the time did not contain sufficient evidence of a possible safety defect trend that would warrant the agency opening a formal investigation," a statement released Thursday by the agency read. "New information provided by GM has prompted NHTSA to launch an aggressive investigation into the timing of their recall."