General Motors Corp. minivans are being investigated by U.S. safety regulators because of reports that power sliding doors on 2005 and 2006 models opened while the vehicles were moving. The inquiry covers as many as 175,000 Buick Terraza, Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6 and Saturn Relay minivans, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday on its Web site. The agency said it received nine complaints about doors that opened at various speeds.
NHTSA began a preliminary investigation, the first step in its review process. GM sold 234,726 of the minivans in the U.S. during the two years, about 3% of its sales, according to figures from Woodcliff Lake, N.J.-based Autodata Corp.
"We are not aware of any instances where the door opened on the open road," GM spokesman Alan Adler said in an interview. There have been no reports of injuries or crashes related to the doors, and the company is cooperating with the investigation, he said.
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