Open and Shut: NHTSA Issues Hood Recall for New Silverado, Sierra HD

General Motors’ revamped 2020 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra HD pickups are striking in appearance, but some buyers might be more enamored with the new 6.6-liter gas V8 under the hood. It’s a selling point, but it’s not something you want the truck showing off an inopportune times.

Like, say, when driving down the highway.

The possibility of unexpected underhood peep shows for the occupants of passing school buses are what prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall.

According to the agency, the hoods on a relative handful of 2020 Silverado and Sierra HDs could fly open without warning. Some 1,909 pickups are impacted by the recall; the bulk of them Chevys, both in 2500 and 3500 guise.

“The hood-latch striker wires may not have been heat-treated properly, possibly causing them to fracture,” the agency wrote. Obviously, if that wire fractures, the vast hood might fly up while the vehicle is underway, providing the driver with an opaque head-up display spanning the height and breadth of the windshield. Hardly a low-stress situation.

While the automaker claims no knowledge of real-world impromptu hood openings, engineers at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds first noticed the problem back in October. The vehicle in question was a company-owned truck. This led to a tip-off, which then sparked a formal investigation.

“Hardness testing on the striker wire recovered from the first durability vehicle confirmed that the wire’s metal hardness was significantly higher than GM’s specifications,” an associated recall document states.

“On January 30, 2020, GM’s hood striker-assembly supplier informed GM that it used an alternate supplier to heat treat two batches of striker wires in January 2019, and that the supplier failed to properly heat treat these wires. Before receiving this information, GM believed that any material issue with the striker wires was fully contained to GM-owned vehicles in GM’s possession.”

General Motors will replace the hood assembly free of charge; recall notices should reach owners on April 26th.

[Image: General Motors]