Warren, Mich. – July 10, 2017 – General Motors has recalled more than 40,000 vehicles possibly equipped with dysfunctional software, according to documentation filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
The campaign affects over one dozen models across multiple brands, including:
- 2014 – 2017 Buick Encore sport utility vehicles
- 2014 – 2016 Buck Lacrosse sedans
- 2015 – 2016 Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicles
- 2015 – 2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV sport utility vehicles
- 2014 – 2016 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit sedans
- 2014 – 2017 Chevrolet Corvette sports cars
- 2014 – 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickups
- 2015 – 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 pickups
- 2015 – 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 pickups
- 2014 – 2016 Chevrolet Spark compacts
- 2014 – 2016 Chevrolet SS sports sedans
- 2015 – 2016 Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle
- 2015 – 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle
- 2015 – 2016 Chevrolet Trax sport utility vehicle
- 2014 – 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 pickups
- 2015 – 2017 GMC Sierra 2500 pickups
- 2015 – 2017 GMC Sierra 3500 pickups
- 2015 – 2016 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL sport utility vehicles
GM suspects 75 percent of the vehicles named in the recall contain the outdated software.
The defect
Affected vehicles contain sensing and diagnostic module software that may not properly deploy front air bags and seat belt pre-tensioning features in the event of an accident.
This poses serious safety risks to drivers and passengers, as they may be left unprotected during collisions. However, the car company has not reports connecting the defective software to accidents or injuries as yet.
Timeline of events
In September of last year, GM recalled more than 3 million vehicles believed to contain problematic SDM software, according to the NHTSA. Approximately 100 percent of the cars involved in the campaign contained the defect.
GM ordered dealers to update the software in all recalled vehicles free of charge, a process that began that very month. Roughly 2.9 million were eventually serviced.
In April 2017, GM personnel conducted an internal audit, reviewing recall and repair records for recent campaigns.
Auditors discovered three instances in which dealers had failed to update the SDM software on vehicles involved in the September 2016 yet reported that the repairs had been successfully executed.
These findings prompted the auditors to evaluate additional repair records and OnStar diagnostic data for approximately 30,000 vehicles named in the aforementioned campaign.
This data indicated that many more models connected to the campaign, an estimated 41,000, might have never received the SDM software update. On May 18, the auditors filed an internal report via the GM Speak Up program.
The GM Safety Field Action Decision Authority chose to conduct an official safety recall June 30. Dealers received notification July 10.
The solution
GM has once again ordered dealers to update the SDM software in affected models. The automaker has pledged to reimburse owners for the repair, according to documents submitted to the NHTSA.
However, GM has not publicized an official notification date for owners.
Check your car’s recall status using MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool.