In a message to Auto Remarketing late Friday, General Motors confirmed another widely reported negative development for the domestic OEM — that it issued a stop sale of the Chevrolet Cruze from the 2013 and 2014 model years equipped with 1.4-liter turbo engines.

GM spokesperson Alan Adler indicated the bulletin sent to franchised stores late on Thursday covers about a third of the Cruzes in dealer inventory.

“We will share an updates as they become available,” Adler said with offering any further specifics as to why the vehicles no longer should be sold.

This development comes just days before new chief executive officer Mary Barra will testify on Capitol Hill. Both the U.S. House and Senate are planning hearings in regard to the recall of older vehicles with ignition problems that led to a dozen deaths because the units stalled unexpectedly and disabled airbags.

“With GM still in the midst of trying to resolve the recall related to faulty ignition switches on the Chevrolet Cobalt and other legacy models, the last thing they need is a major issue with one of their current high volume production models, in this case, the Chevrolet Cruze,” Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Alec Gutierrez said.

“Although details as to why they have halted sales on the 1.4 liter turbo Cruze remain scarce, it does appear as though GM is being very proactive by issuing a stop sale on one of their most popular models,” Gutierrez said. “This could be an example of how the ‘new’ GM will handle potential safety issues moving forward.  Rather than sweep this one under the rug until the ignition switch news stories subside, they have decided to tackle the issue head on to ensure potentially unsafe vehicles don’t end up in the driveways of unsuspecting consumers. 

“The stop sale could impact GM’s sales performance in April if not resolved quickly, although it is far too early to gauge the total scope of the impact until additional details are known,” he went on to say.

Along with the recall of 1.6 million older models for that ignition problem, GM also recently announced a campaign covering more than 1 million late-model Cadillac and Buick vehicles as well as Chevrolet and GMC cargo vans.

Furthermore, Barra tapped 40-year GM veteran Jeff Boyer for the newly created position of vice president of global vehicle safety whose first priority will be to quickly identify and resolve product safety issues.

“The timing of this stop sale order might appear unfortunate given the publicity surrounding GM's ignition switch recall, but it actually illustrates a new approach by the automaker,” KBB senior analyst Karl Brauer said.

“Rather than waiting for a full understanding and planned fix for the Cruze, GM is apparently stopping sales at the first sign of a problem to remove the potential of endangering customers. With the recent appointment of a global safety chief, it’s possible we’ll see more of these pre-emptive moves by General Motors,” Brauer went on to say.

Toyota Recalling Older Avalons

In other recall news, Toyota Motor Sales USA announced last week that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall of approximately 119,000 Avalon sedans from the 2003 and 2004 model years.

In the involved Toyota Avalon vehicles, officials explained certain circuits within the airbag control module may be susceptible to damage if exposed to electrical noise from other electrical components.

“In some instances, front airbag(s) and/or seat belt pre-tensioners could inadvertently deploy,” Toyota said.

“Dealers will remedy the condition by adding an electrical noise filter to the airbag control module,” the automaker continued.

Toyota indicated owners of vehicles subject to these recalls will receive a notification by first class mail.

Detailed information is available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling the Toyota Customer Experience Center at (800) 331-4331.

Tesla Reinforces Model S Safety Equipment

Tesla took steps to improve the safety of its all-electric vehicles to the point the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed an investigation last week without asking the OEM to make recall of the 2012 and 2013 Model S.

Tesla raised the vehicle’s ground clearance and added protective plates for the lithium ion battery pack that powers the vehicle.

“Tesla’s revision of vehicle ride height and addition of increased underbody protection should reduce both the frequency of underbody strikes and the resultant fire risk,” NHTSA said.

Last year, two vehicle fires stemming from puncture damage to the battery pack triggered the NHTSA investigation, prompting Tesla to defend the vehicle’s safety and eventually resulting in the recent action

“As the empirical evidence suggests, the underbody shields are not needed for a high level of safety. However, there is significant value to minimizing owner inconvenience in the event of an impact and addressing any lingering public misperception about electric vehicle safety,” Tesla chairman and CEO Elon Musk wrote in a blog post on the company’s website.

“With a track record of zero deaths or serious, permanent injuries since our vehicles went into production six years ago, there is no safer car on the road than a Tesla. The addition of the underbody shields simply takes it a step further,” Musk continued.

Starting with vehicle bodies manufactured as of March 6, Tesla indicated all vehicles have been outfitted with a triple underbody shield. Tesla service will also retrofit the shields, free of charge, to existing vehicles upon request or as part of a normally scheduled service.

It’s a move Brauer cheered.

“Tesla has added substantial protective measures to the underbody of the Model S. This combination of upgraded materials should further reduce the chance of a battery pack puncture. Given that no punctures have been reported over the past four months, even without the added protection, this fix should eliminate the potential of a battery-pack fire under all but the most extreme circumstances,” Brauer said.

And Gutierrez echoed many of the points mentioned by his KBB colleague.

“Tesla’s decision to add a shield over their battery pack demonstrates that they are committed to ensuring the safety of the Model S for the long term. This should help to further reduce the chance of a fire by protecting the battery pack from being punctured should a Model S hits debris similar to the previously reported cases that resulted in fires last year,” he said.

“Although NHTSA’s investigation remains underway, it’s good to see that Tesla has been hard at work trying to find ways to further reduce risk for owners of their flagship product,” Gutierrez added.