General Motors issues recall for nearly 3.5 million vehicles for brake problem
The recall surrounds the automaker's trucks and SUVs.
Popular trucks and SUVs are all part of the recall.
General Motors has plans for a massive new recall campaign that involves some of its most popular vehicles. GM has issued a recall for nearly 3.5 million trucks and SUVs in the US, the Associated Press reports. GM recalled an additional 310,000 vehicles in Canada earlier this year for the same problem.
The millions of trucks and SUVs have a brake issue that GM said resides in aging pumps in the brake system. As the vehicles grow older, the pump may not produce sufficient vacuum power, which could increase the stopping distance, and increase the risk of a crash. Affected models include the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra and their 1500, 2500 and 3500 variants from the 2014-2018 model years, and the Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade from the 2015-2018 model years.
GM will not replace the pumps in the vehicles, however. Instead, the automaker said in a statement that the vacuum pump receives oil lubrication, and in the affected vehicles, a screen can become clogged and cause a reduction in vacuum power. Thus, the remedy will involve a tweak to the secondary power brake assist system with a reprogramming, which kicks in if the vehicle detects a problem with the main system. GM said the secondary system is, right now, limited at lower speeds. The recall fix will tell the backup system to engage quicker.
The automaker says the fix will improve brake performance in any instance where vacuum power drops and noted most of the reported incidents involved motorists driving at low speeds. NHTSA had recorded 111 complaints as of last November when it opened a probe into GM vehicles' brakes. GM said it has 113 complaints and is aware of 13 injuries involving the brake system defect.
Drivers may experience a vibration in the brake pedal if their truck or SUV has the problem. They'll also need to apply more pressure than usual to compensate for the lack of vacuum power. A message will also populate on the dashboard telling the driver to service the brake system.
Owners began receiving notifications of the recall on Sept. 6.
