Investigators probe GM SUV fire reports

2007 Chevrolet Tahoe

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal investigation into possible fires in General Motors' new full-size SUV.

The agency is responding to two reports of fires on 2007 model year Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs. Both were said to have occurred while the vehicles were parked in a home garage with the engine turned off. Both reports allege significant property damage, according to NHTSA's Defect Investigation Summary.

The 2007 model year was the first for GM's (GM, Fortune 500) re-engineered GMT900 large trucks and SUVs, a family of vehicles that includes the Tahoe, the GMC Yukon, the Cadillac Escalade and the Chevrolet Silverado pickup among others. The 2007 model year went on sale in early 2006.

The investigation involves only the Tahoe and the closely related GMC Yukon. NHTSA estimates the total population of vehicles at about 400,000.

GM is cooperating with NHTSA in the investigation, said company spokesman Alan Adler. With only two incidents, he said, there has been no discernable trend.

"This was not something that was on our radar," Adler said.

Ford Motor Co. (F, Fortune 500) has had to recall millions of vehicles over the last few years because of the potential for fires while the vehicles were parked. A faulty cruise control switch caused several fires resulting in extensive property damage in some cases.

The GM trucks do not use that type of cruise control switch, Adler said, so it is unclear what single cause, if any, could have caused the alleged Tahoe fires.