General Motors announces 30th recall of year

DETROIT -- General Motors is recalling about 500 pickup trucks and SUVs to fix faulty air bag controls, its 30th recall so far this year.

The company is in the midst of a company-wide safety review after it mishandled the recall of more than 2.6 million older small cars with faulty ignition switches. GM has acknowledged knowing about the switch problem for more than a decade before it began recalling the cars in February.

Meanwhile, federal safety regulators said that it was "likely" that more than 13 people died in the cars recalled for the defective ignition switches.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA said in a statement, "The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to NHTSA, but we believe it's likely that more than 13 lives were lost."

In a statement to Reuters, the car manufacturer continued to say that there may have been 13 deaths related to the ignition switches.

GM last week agreed to pay a $35 million federal fine for safety issues stemming from the delayed recalls. It is the largest civil penalty ever paid as a result of a government investigation of violations stemming from recalls.

The automaker also faces a barrage of lawsuits related to the ignition-switch problems.

Some lawmakers have argued that the fine against GM is too light and that it will do little to ensure that other automakers act promptly to recall and fix troubled vehicles.

GM said Friday's recall covered full-size pickups and SUVs from the 2014 and 2015 model years. All 500 are still at dealerships and won't be sold until repairs are made.

Since January, GM has recalled more than 13.8 million vehicles in the U.S. as it promises to respond faster to safety issues.