General Motors Is Recalling 51,000 Cars to Fix Fuel Gauge

WASHINGTON — General Motors is recalling 51,640 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia sport utility vehicles of the 2014 model year because faulty software may cause the fuel gauge to read inaccurately, federal regulators said Saturday.

“An inaccurate fuel gauge may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website.

G.M. said in a letter to the agency that the fuel gauge reading could be off by as much as a quarter of a tank. To fix the problem, G.M. dealers will reprogram the vehicles’ engine control modules.

G.M. has recalled about seven million vehicles this year, including 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other models for faulty ignition switches that are linked to at least 13 deaths.

The automaker is under investigation by the N.H.T.S.A., Congress, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for waiting until February to begin ordering the ignition switch recall, despite first learning of the defect more than 10 years ago.