A Look Inside GM's Cobalt Ignition Switch

Here’s a closer look inside the controversial ignition switch installed on ’03-’07 recalled Chevrolet Cobalts and other GM small cars during the same model years. WardsAuto sister publication Machine Design disassembled a ’07 Cobalt to examine the part’s construction.

The switch was redesigned in later model years, although those vehicles have also been recalled. The defect potentially affects upwards of 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. and 2.6 million worldwide. None of them are in production today. In the U.S., the part has been linked to 13 deaths and 31 crashes.