Federal regulators have began an investigation into more than 2.7 million SUVs and trucks built by General Motors between 2006 and 2008 after reports of 41 non-crash engine compartment fires, including 8 fires that may have caused significant property damage along with 16 cases where fires started while the vehicles were turned off. The probe covers 21 models sold by Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Hummer.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) investigators are currently examining the electrical system, engine and engine cooling system, battery cables, under-hood wiring, fuses and circuit breakers. For the time being, NHTSA calls the probe an “engineering analysis”, but this could eventually lead to a recall of all the affected General Motors vehicles. -See the affected models after the jump

GM vehicles under investigation:• Cadillac Escalade ESV and EXT MY2007-2008,• Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 MY2007-2008,• Chevrolet Avalanche 2500, MY2007• Chevrolet Silverado MY2007,• Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500 MY2007-2008,• Chevrolet Surburban 1500 and 2500 MY2007-2008,• Chevrolet Tahoe MY2007-2008,• GMC Sierra, MY2008• GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 MY2007-2008,• GMC Sierra Classic, MY2007• GMC Silverado, GMC Yukon MY2007,• GMC Yukon XL 1500, XL 2500 MY2007-2008,• Hummer H2 MY2006-2007,• Hummer H2 Utility, MY2008• Hummer H2 MY2006-2008.