General Motors is withdrawing 64 Chevrolet Volt hybrids from the market produced between 2011 and 2013. The alarm raised by GM is linked to the carbon monoxide emitted by hybrid cars: if the owner of the car forgets to turn it off, the risk is that there is too much carbon monoxide. "If the petrol engine runs for a long period of time in an enclosed space such as a garage - GM explains in a statement - there may be an accumulation of carbon monoxide".
The withdrawal of the 64 vehicles from the market comes following two carbon monoxide accidents that injured two people. In December 2013, according to reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the owner of a Chevrolet Volt left the car plugged in to recharge it, but forgot to turn off the engine. The following morning, according to the customer's account, the car was still on.
To overcome the problem, Generale Motors announces that it is working on new software that limits the ignition period of the engine: "If a driver gets out of the vehicle and inadvertently leaves it running without reacting to the warnings emitted by the vehicle itself, the high-voltage battery it will discharge after a certain period and the petrol engine will start running”.
