— General Motors is recalling more than 4 million vehicles to fix airbags and seat belt pretensioners that can fail in a crash, with more than 3.6 million of those vehicles located in the U.S. The problems are caused by software in the airbag sensing and diagnostic modules that activate during a test.
GM says certain driving conditions can cause the test and it's during this time the front airbags and seat belt pretensioners could fail in a crash. The automaker says one alleged death and three injuries are attributed to the defect.
GM names the recalled vehicles as the:
- 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD
- 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2015-2017 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2015-2017 GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD
- 2015-2017 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
- 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV
- 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2014-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- 2014-2017 Chevrolet Trax
- 2014-2017 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit
- 2014-2017 GMC Sierra 1500
- 2014-2017 Buick Encore
- 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse
- 2014-2016 Chevrolet Spark EV
- 2014-2016 Chevrolet SS
GM received an internal report in May relating to the crash of a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado where the driver’s frontal airbag and seatbelt pretensioners were alleged not to have deployed.
GM opened an investigation into the issue in June and contacted Delphi, the supplier of the sensing and diagnostic module. The automaker gathered additional electronic data recorder records from other incidents where the same crash symptoms occurred.
GM conducted road testing for three days in August and after reviewing more data with Delphi, the automaker decided to order the recall.
Dealers will need to reflash the sensing and diagnostic module software, but GM doesn't know when that will begin. Vehicles that have had a previous airbag deployment will have the sensing and diagnostic module replaced.
Affected owners may call the following numbers:
- Buick customer service - 800-521-7300
- Cadillac customer service - 800-458-8006
- Chevrolet customer service - 800-222-1020
- GMC customer service - 800-462-8782
GM's number for the sensing and diagnostic module recall is 16007.
CarComplaints.com has complaints about the vehicles named in the recall:
- Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Chevrolet Suburban
- GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500
- GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
- Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- Chevrolet Trax
- Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Buick Encore
- Buick Lacrosse
- Chevrolet Spark EV
- Chevrolet SS