GM General Motors Company

By Mike Spector 

General Motors Co. earlier this week halted sales of roughly 60,000 large crossover wagons in the U.S. to replace window stickers that overstated fuel economy on the affected vehicles by up to 2 miles a gallon.

The move, which dealers learned of on Wednesday, grounded the Detroit auto maker's entire stock of 2016 Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave crossovers, a GM spokesman said. GM is scrambling to print and quickly send out new labels to dealerships so the vehicles can again be sold.

The spokesman attributed the problem to an "inadvertent error" that resulted in labels overstating the Environmental Protection Agency's estimated mileage for the vehicles by 1 to 2 miles a gallon.

"GM discovered an inadvertent error which affected the fuel economy information on the fuel economy labels on the 2016 model year Acadia, Enclave and Traverse vehicles," the GM spokesman said. He declined to elaborate on what led to the mistake.

"The error caused the EPA estimated fuel economy to be listed on the window label as 1-2 mpg higher than it should have been. GM is stopping sale of the affected models until a corrected label is printed and affixed," the spokesman added. GM discovered the error and notified the EPA promptly, the spokesman said.

There isn't any evidence that the fuel-economy labels were deliberately incorrect, and they affect a relatively small number of vehicles. Unless other evidence emerges, GM isn't likely to face government penalties for the miscue.

"EPA has been notified by General Motors that the company is correcting fuel-economy labels on its model year 2016 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles," a spokeswoman said. "We have asked the company to provide all relevant information to the agency."

Automotive News earlier reported on the incorrect labels.

Front-wheel-drive versions of the vehicles get an estimated 15 mpg in city driving, 22 mpg on the highway and 18 mpg combined, the GM spokesman said. All-wheel-drive versions of the vehicles get an estimated 15 mpg in the city, 22 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined, the spokesman said. The incorrect labels boosted those figures by 1 to 2 miles a gallon depending on the category.

GM plans to contact affected vehicle owners to address the problem, the spokesman said, adding that the error doesn't affect the vehicles' safety or operation.

While GM's miscue at this point appears to amount to a technical error, other auto makers have previously been caught in government crosshairs for incorrect fuel-economy data.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in April admitted to manipulating fuel-economy data in Japan on more than 600,000 vehicles, a disclosure that hammered the company's shares and resulted in Nissan Motor Co. investing more than $2 billion for a controlling stake in the beleaguered company.

South Korean auto makers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in 2014 agreed to pay a combined $100 million in civil penalties and forfeit another $200 million in regulatory credits to settle an investigation by the EPA and Justice Department into overstated fuel-economy claims. Ford Motor Co. in 2014 said it would compensate customers for overstated mileage claims on vehicles after it erred when conducting government-prescribed tests.

Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2016 16:05 ET (20:05 GMT)

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