GM Recalls More Than 900,000 Vehicles Worldwide Over Brake and Battery Issues

by Matt Posky

Published: December 19th, 2019

gm recalls more than 900 000 vehicles worldwide over brake and battery issues

General Motors is recalling more than 900,000 vehicles across the globe to addresses issues from separate campaigns — one of which poses an always-exciting fire risk. On Thursday, the automaker announced a callback of more than 400,00 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks from the 2019-2020 model years. The manufacturer is concerned that pickups’ battery positive cable rings may have been installed with excessive glue, creating a stalling risk, or in some instances a potential fire hazard.

Another 550,000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Cadillac CT6, and GMC Sierra 1500 models from 2019 will also need to be recalled. A potential software issue related to the vehicles’ service brake system notifications could cause it to go haywire, negatively impacting their electronic stability control (ESC) and anti-lock braking (ABS) functions.

According to Reuters, GM claims the vehicles’ diagnostic system will not illuminate the instrument cluster alert when the issue arises, but ABS and ESC will effectively be disabled until engineers reflash the software. The manufacturer believes the problem is exceedingly rare and should not affect most of the models under suspicion. GM issued a similarly large recall (roughly 638,000 vehicles) on slightly older trucks and SUVs earlier this year due to a faulty wheel-speed sensor. It also impacted braking and sent the vehicles’ software into error mode, providing an elevated crash risk at the same time.

Meanwhile, the glue-related recall only requires a visual inspection. From there, impacted components can be replaced with new rings installed using the appropriate amount of glue.

While no injuries are linked to the campaign, General Motors did cite one fire report. Details of the issue apparently emerged from the factory after a Canadian employee noticed the stalling issue. The manufacturer should begin notifying impacted owners before the end of next month.

[Image: General Motors]

#BrakingIssues #CadillacCt6 #ChevroletSilverado #FireRisk #GeneralMotors #GM #GmcSierra #Recall #Recalls #Repairs #Safety

Matt Posky

Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.

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2 of 12 comments

Michael S6 on Dec 19, 2019

The good news is that if you disconnect the battery then you don't have to worry about the brake issue.

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Jeff S on Dec 22, 2019

@Halftruth--Actually I knew about the terminals being glued on. I had a positive terminal on the battery of my 99 S-10 fall off when it was 2 years old. I took the battery into the dealership and they replaced it at no cost. You could see the remnants of the glue on the battery. The terminals were side terminals.

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