Imagine turning your car's steering wheel, or giving it a gentle tug, and having it break away from the steering column. Now you're speeding along holding the suddenly useless wheel.

It sounds like a vision from a cartoon, or every driver's nightmare. And it happened to at least one driver of a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze compact car last month, and General Motors Corp. is recalling 2,100 of the cars as a result.

While...