GM recalls 475,000 Chevy cruzes

General Motors, on Friday, said it was recalling 475,000 of its popular Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in the US and Canada to modify parts that could cause fires in the engine compartment.

A Chevrolet Cruze chassis was welded in an assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in July 2011. The safety recall was one of two announced by GM on the Cruze, the automaker’s second-best-selling car in the USs and a symbol of the company’s comeback from its government-backed bankruptcy in 2009.

The second recall affects about 61,000 Cruzes that may have problems with welds in the rear of the vehicles.

GM said about 30 fires had been reported in 2011 and 2012 Cruzes because of oil spilling on a plastic engine shield on the underside of the vehicles.

The company said it knew of no crashes, injuries or deaths as a result of the fires. In April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a safety investigation after receiving two reports of Cruzes that had been destroyed by engine fires.

GM said the Cruze fires had primarily been caused by improper oil changes. When oil drips onto the plastic shields, the parts can ignite and spread fire through the engine compartment.