Toward Total Recall

The auto industry has not yet achieved total recall, but on one type of car it is coming close. So far in the current model run, General Motors has built 560,000 Chevrolet Vegas--and called back 480,000 of them. Last week the latest Vega recall, of 350,000 cars, produced something unusual: it was caused by a flaw related to an anti-pollution device.

The device is a solenoid, a part about the size of a flashlight battery that controls the engine's idling speed. It is supposed to ensure that pollutants are properly burned before entering into the exhaust. The solenoid itself did not fail, but in at least 15 cars a small bracket holding it in place did, causing the solenoid to hold the throttle linkage open in a fast-idle position; in five cases the throttle stuck open so badly that the driver could not slow the car by taking his foot off the gas pedal. Chevrolet is calling back the cars to install a support that will help hold the solenoid, and has a plant working seven days a week to produce the supports. Meanwhile it advises drivers whose throttles may stick open to "turn off the ignition key while firmly applying the brakes, and bring the car to a stop."

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