GM Recalling 145,628 Mid-Sized Pickups As Hood Latch Issue Could Cause Pop-Up Surprise

This week seems to be all about vehicle defects that could cause quite a nasty surprise on the road. Yesterday we heard about sunroofs shattering on Hyundai Velosters, and today General Motors announced it’s recalling 145,628 mid-sized pickups because the hood should not pop up unexpectedly while you’re driving.

The vehicles affected in the recall include certain model year 2010-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon vehicles made between November 9, 2009 and August 28, 2012, according to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration.

GM filed for the recall because many vehicles could be missing an important secondary latch in the hood. If that’s not hooked properly, there’s a potential for the hood to just pop open on the go. Not something you want to happen while you’re driving.

So far there haven’t been any crashes or injuries reported linked to this issue, which affects a possible 118,00 vehicles in the U.S. The rest of the pickups are concentrated in Canada and Mexico, with a smaller number exported elsewhere.

GM is going to notify owners and have them check trucks to see if the secondary hood latch is even there first, or take it to a dealer for a better look. If there’s no secondary latch whatsoever, the entire hood will be replaced for free.

The recall will begin on January 17, 2013, but in the meantime owners can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC at 1-866-996-9463.

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