DETROIT — General Motors said Monday that it will recall 636,000 of its most popular 2002 and 2003 midsize SUVs because of a windshield wiper system electrical problem that’s been tied to two crashes. The SUVs involved are: 2002 and 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the TrailBlazer EXT version 2002 and 2003 GMC Envoy and the Envoy XL 2002 and 2003 Oldsmobile Bravada 2002 Isuzu Ascender.

GM plans to begin notifying owners starting in July, when they will be told to go to a dealer to have a vent hole in the windshield wiper system patched so that water does not leak in. The leaking water can corrode wiring, GM said, which in turn can lead to a short circuit or windshield wiper problems.

“There have been two reports of crashes related to this condition, but there have been no injuries or fatalities,” GM said in a statement.

There will be no charge for the fix but the company is asking owners to wait until they are notified before going to the dealer for repair. Most of the vehicles involved are located in the U.S. with the rest in Canada and a small number elsewhere abroad.

SUVs are among GM’s most important products; it sells more than 100,000 a month and sold more SUVs than anyone else last year. The TrailBlazer is the most popular SUV built by GM, with more than 260,000 sold in 2003.

Last week, GM announced it would recall 1.8 million sedans for an electrical problem in the ignition system that caused fires in some vehicles.

_______________________________________

Click here to view the rest of today’s headlines.