A review of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) database by Reuters has revealed that the complaint which the US safety regulators received about 'a Chevrolet Camaro driver accidentally shutting off the car with a knee' dates back more than one year.

According to Reuters, it was in April 2013 that a consumer complaint was lodged about the turning off of a Camaro with the driver's knee.

However, General Motors (GM) issued a recall of half a million of the Camaro sports cars over the mentioned issue as recently as Friday. The accidental shutting off the car with a knee underscores a defect similar to the one linked to 13 deaths in already recalled older models of GM small cars.

The review of the NHTSA database showed that, since 2009, at least 18 consumer complaints have been received by safety regulators about Camaro cars involving a sudden halt of the engines or an unexpected loss of power.

Reuters has revealed that one of the complaints specifically said: "When the ignition switch/ key is slightly bumped with knee, the car shuts off. Three times now. Dealership not responsive. Taught my teen drivers what to do if this happens and this saved my daughter's life when it happened to her."

However, as per the media report, the identity of the complainant has not been disclosed in the NHTSA database.