General Motors is recalling more than 38,000 Chevrolet Impala police cars in the U.S. and Canada because a part in the front suspension can crack and cause a crash.

The recall affects police cars from the 2008 through 2012 model years. The lower control arm in the suspension can fracture, causing sudden changes in handling that could make the driver lose control, GM said in documents posted Saturday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

Impalas sold to the public have some different suspension parts and are not affected by the recall, spokesman Alan Adler said. "We tested for durability on the civilian Impala, and we believe there are no issues," he said.

GM doesn't know of any crashes or injuries from the problem. If a fracture occurs, a squeal or chirp is likely to come from the tire area at low speeds, GM said in the documents.

The company will replace the lower control arms at no charge to police departments. Parts are available, and departments can call dealers to schedule repairs, Adler said.

The problem was discovered after GM got reports from several police fleets that the lower control arms had cracked near a bushing sleeve. GM began investigating the problem in February, and in July, GM engineers had traced the problem to lower control arms that the company started using in the middle of the 2008 model year, the documents said.

All the cars were built at GM's factory in Oshawa, Ontario.