DETROIT -- U.S. regulators are stepping up their investigation of door handles on the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs after receiving reports of 88 minor hand injuries.
The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will look at more than 433,000 vehicles, according to the agency’s Web site.
The complaints cite the metal-plated interior door handles as the cause of the cuts. The delaminating, or peeling, of the metal plating on the door handles cut hands when the door was opened. Some of the injuries were described as severe paper cuts.
General Motors Co. spokesman Alan Adler said the automaker’s engineers are cooperating with NHTSA.
“I think we need to look heavier into [the issue] and then decide what the right remedy to it would be,” Adler said.
In a February complaint, a Tahoe customer said: “The chrome plating on the interior door handles peel and create sharp edges that cut and draw blood.”
A Yukon customer had a similar problem in June 2009. The complaint states: “I have had to teach my children how to avoid getting cuts. I have had the car for five days, and we have sustained cuts for five days. How long should this go on?”
An investigation began in September 2009 as a preliminary evaluation. A more in-depth engineering analysis was opened May 23.
An engineering analysis could result in a vehicle recall.
