GM recalls half a million more cars over over ignition switch problems

Auto giant General Motors issued a recall for half a million cars with ignition design faults switches Friday, the latest in a series of massive callbacks over safety defects.

GM announced a recall for 511,528 Chevrolet Camaro muscle cars from the 2010 to 2014 model years. It follows concern that a driver's knee can bump the vehicle’s key and knock the switch out of the run position, shutting down the engine, which could disable power steering and brakes and cause drivers to lose control.

The American carmaker said it knows of three crashes and four minor injuries from the problem.

It added that the Camaro ignition problem was unrelated to a switch fault that has been linked to at least 50 crashes, 13 deaths and led to the recall of 2.6 million small cars. The company recently fired 15 people and disciplined five others in connection with that issue.

The Camaro key is concealed in the fob like a switchblade. GM said it will replace it with a straight design. The news of yet another recall comes as GM CEO Mary Barra is scheduled to return to Congress on June 18 for a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing about the company’s recent problems.

Barra announced the findings of a recent internal investigation into the recalls, which revealed a pattern of "incompetence and neglect" that she blamed on "individuals" who failed to "disclose critical pieces of information" about the ignition switches. Despite GM's knowing about issues with the ignition switches in some of its models for years and not telling the appropriate authorities, Barra said there was "no conspiracy by the corporation to cover up facts."

With this latest addition, GM has recalled more than 5 million cars so far this year.

Al Jazeera and wire services