With all the financial strife General Motors finds itself in, the last thing it needs are product recalls bringing into doubt the quality of its vehicles. Unfortunately for GM, a product recall is just what the company was forced to issue, and with more than 270,000 vehicles across the country affected people are going to take notice.

The recall affects the 2009 versions of the Buick Enclave, and the Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR, Malibu and Traverse. The Saturn Aura and Outlook have also been affected, as have the GMC Acadia, and the Pontiac G5 and G6.

The issue with the shift lever lies in an inability to effectively mesh with the transmission. This issue manifests itself when drivers move the shift lever into the 'Park' position for automatic cars and the transmission doesn't actually reach the 'Park' setting. This could cause cars to roll away if the handbrake is not engaged, although GM did not go into specifics as to what other issues could present themselves.

While around 270,000 cars are being recalled, most are still sitting in dealer lots. Only around 75,000 vehicles that could potentially be affected by the faulty shift lever have been sold to consumers, and none of those vehicles have reported any problems relating to the recall as of yet.

Product recalls are an unfortunate part of life for manufacturers, however even the most prestigious auto brands have been forced to issue recalls as recently as this year, including Ferrari (who's F430 Spider convertibles were at risk of going up in flames), BMW and Maserati.