DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors' safety crisis worsened on Monday when the automaker added 8.2 million vehicles to its huge list of cars recalled over faulty ignition switches.
The latest recalls involve mainly older midsize cars and bring GM's total number of recalls this year to over 28 million. GM said it was aware of three deaths, eight injuries and seven crashes involving the vehicles recalled on Monday. But the company said it has no conclusive evidence that faulty switches caused the crashes.
The Detroit company also said it plans to take a $1.2 billion charge in the second quarter for recall-related expenses. Added to a $1.3 billion charge in the first quarter, that brings total recall expenses for the year to $2.5 billion.
The new recalls affect a range of vehicles from the 1997 to 2014 model years.
They include the 1997-2005 Chevrolet Malibu, the 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrique, the 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, the 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am, the 2000-05 Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, the 2004-08 Pontiac Grand Prix, the 2004-06 Cadillac SRX and 2003-14 Cadillac CTS — about 8.2 million vehicles in total for "unintended ignition key rotation," GM said in a statement.
CEO Mary Barra said the recalls stem from an extensive safety review within the company.
"If any other issues come to our attention, we will act appropriately and without hesitation," she said in a statement.
GM is urging people to remove everything from their key rings until the recalled cars can be repaired.
It also announced four other recalls Monday covering more than 200,000 additional vehicles. Most are to fix an electrical short in the driver's door that could disable the power locks and windows and even cause overheating.
The announcement temporarily halted trading of GM stock on Monday afternoon, but it resumed in about a half hour and was down 1.2 percent to $36.19.
