By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday it denied a General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) request that would have allowed the automaker to avoid fixing headlight glare problems on about 725,000 U.S. sport utility vehicles.
If the agency had agreed to declare the problem inconsequential, GM would not have been required to notify customers of the problem and provide a free fix.
The Detroit automaker argued the issue did not impact vehicle safety and petitioned NHTSA in 2019 to declare the issue inconsequential for GMC Terrain vehicles from the 2010 through 2017 model years. GM said the issue has been corrected in replacement parts and does not affect current generation vehicles.
NHTSA said in certain weather conditions such as snow and fog the headlight issue could cause "glare to other motorists driving in proximity."
GM said Friday it was aware of the agency's ruling and "will review NHTSA’s decision and explore potential next steps."
GM told NHTSA it was aware of "only a single customer
inquiry associated with this condition and is not aware of any crashes or injuries."