2011 has been the year of the recall for General Motors. Hardly a week goes by when a new vehicle recall from GM is not making news. The latest addition to this list is the Cadillac SRX.

In particular, SRX models built in Mexico between 2010 and 2011. Roughly 20,000 vehicles are said to be affected, with the majority of these vehicles being in China and America. A smaller number of defected vehicles can be found in 20 other countries.

The problem is with the transmission shift cable causing unintended movement. Upon examination, GM has sourced the problem to an incorrect routing of the transmission shift cable through the engine bay.

The problem was triggered by a person who wrote to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration) about unintended vehicle motion when he shifted from park to drive to park again.

GM has notified the NHTSA that it will sort out this issue. No accidents or injuries have been reported due to this defect.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has closed their preliminary evaluation of the Getrag MT-82 6-speed manual transmission used in 2011 and future Ford Mustangs.

“There is no indication of loss of motive power or unreasonable safety risk associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles,” the NHTSA said in a press release.

The evaluation came after 364 unique reports of problems with difficult cold shifts, binding gears, difficulty engaging in gears and excessive noise and vibration. The complaints, fielded by both Ford and the Office of Defects Investigations, prompted Ford to address the problems individually.

The difficulty shifting in cold weather, the report said, is the result of overly viscous transmission fluid. Ford has since advised technicians that a lower-viscosity fluid is available to fix the problem for cold-climate customers.

Perhaps more concerning are the grinding noises and trouble with engaging gears. The latter, Ford said, is because of the “rotating inertia of clutch components” and that it depends on how long the driver keeps the engine above 4000 rpms. New clutch pedal parts have also been distributed to fix the issue.

Finally, grinding and poor shift feel is from the gradual loosening of clutch plate fastenerers after aggressive shifting. To address this, Ford has implemented a new fastener in production and made the part available through a special service message.

Click here to go to a story we published in early October featuring a video made by a Mustang owner experiencing these problems.

[Source: press release]