GM adds 218,000 subcompact Aveo cars to recall list

General Motors is adding 218,000 subcompact cars to its growing list of recalled vehicles.

Chevrolet Aveo or Optra cars from the 2004 through 2008 model years are being recalled because of a fault in the daytime running light, GM said in a posting on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site in the U.S. The Aveo was called the Optra in some markets.

GM said the module in the dashboard centre stack can overheat, melt and cause fires. A spokesman said the company was aware of fires related to the fault, but not of any injuries or fatalities.

GM Canada said approximately 67,000 Canadian vehicles are impacted, covering Aveos from 2004 through 2008 and Pontiac Wave/GE from 2005 through 2008.

GM said it will provide a plan to fix the problem as soon as possible.

The vehicles were built in Korea by the former Daewoo, which is now GM Korea. The same part may have been used in some Suzuki vehicles.

GM has made 29 safety and non-compliance recalls this year, bring the total number of vehicles recalled in North America to 15.8 million.

The record number of recalls follows a U.S. congressional investigation into a deadly ignition switch in GM vehicles, which may have led to 13 fatalities. GM was fined $35 million because it may have known about the fault for up to 10 years without acting on the information.