Laguna Hills, CA – November 5, 2019 – General Motors recently notified dealers that it would have to recall a small population of its Cadillac CT6 luxury sedans due to a problem with their tire pressure sensors.
In all, just 81 CT6 sedans from the 2020 model year will be recalled – 100% of which were identified as having this issue. The company noted that similar vehicles that did not have the accessory wheels installed at their dealers are not included in this recall.
The defect
Specifically, these vehicles – all produced between August 1 and September 9, 2019 – came equipped with specific accessory wheels that had been installed by dealers, but which do no meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard rules related to tire pressure monitoring systems.
This is because their sensors do not use the proper wireless radio frequency to communicate with the vehicle’s computer, and as a consequence, the system may not be able to properly alert drivers – via a warning light on the dashboard – that tire pressure has dropped to potentially dangerous low levels.
The problem at the heart of the issue is that incorrect part numbers for the tire pressure sensors were put into GM’s ordering system.
Ideally, the automatic system would turn on the warning light after 18 minutes of driving at least 28 miles per hour on tires with low pressure, but because of the mismatched radio frequency, this would not occur.
As a result, drivers may not know of the risks they face unless they manually check their tire pressure before or after a trip. Low pressure can have a detrimental effect on vehicle handling or lead to tire failure, both of which would increase the risk of an accident.
Timeline of events
In September, General Motors received a report about the issue through its Speak Up for Safety program that the wrong tire pressure sensors had been installed on the affected CT6 sedans with specific accessory wheels.
On September 24, the company opened an investigation into the issue, consulting with subject-matter experts and the company’s regulatory engineers.
The GM Open Investigation Review board looked at the findings of this examination on Oct. 7 and recommended that the company issue a recall.
Two days later, the GM Safety Field Action Decision Authority followed through on that recommendation.
The solution
Upon receiving their recall notices, owners should take their affected CT6 sedans to a certified GM dealer, where all four tire pressure sensors will be replaced with proper parts that use the right wireless frequency to communicate with the vehicle.
Given that these are all 2020 model year vehicles, the repairs are covered by warranty and no reimbursement will be offered.
The investigation also found that the incorrect part number that led to the wrong sensors being installed was corrected within GM’s ordering system on September 11. This means that all accessory kits shipped to dealers after that date had the correct sensors.
Dealers were notified of the recall on October 15, and owner notification dates are yet to be decided.
Check your car’s recall status using MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool.
