Heated seats, steering wheels dropped on numerous General Motors cars as chip shortage hits
A load of Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC models won't be available with heated seats or steering wheels as a temporary measure.
One of the most sought-after features in new cars will be hard to come by at General Motors. The automaker confirmed with Roadshow on Monday it will not offer heated and ventilated seats, nor heated steering wheels, on a number of Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC vehicles due to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. The changes affect 2022 model year vehicles. Automotive News first reported the changes this past weekend. Although it seems like a minor inconvenience, heated seats, especially, are one of the most popular options for new car buyers.
A GM spokesperson confirmed the lack of heating elements for a slew of vehicles and stressed the change is "temporary" until the automaker's chip supplies improve again. It's not clear if that means a model year, a few months or some time in between. At Chevrolet, heated and ventilated seats won't be available on the Malibu, Trailblazer, Blazer, Equinox, Traverse, Colorado, Silverado 1500 and Silverado HD. The changes are not across all trims, however, so some vehicles may still offer heated seats in certain configurations.
At GMC, the Canyon, Terrain, Acadia, Sierra 1500 and Sierra HD lose the butt warmers. Over at Buick, the Encore GX, Envision and Enclave lose out. Cadillac shoppers won't find heated seats on various XT4, XT5 and XT6 SUVs. Shoppers will see the changes on the vehicle's Monroney label and find a credit on the MSRP for the missing feature.
As for the lack of heated steering wheels, they won't be found on many of the same vehicles, but also on cars like the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac CT4 and CT5. Again, it will depend on the trim, so be sure to check a specific car's window sticker to see if the feature's missing. If these cars are without a heated steering wheel, an additional credit on the MSRP will show up.
It's not all foul news with the chips, however. GM said its supplies have allowed it to resume normal production in nearly all of its North American assembly plants. Pickup and SUV plants are also running overtime shifts. In addition, features such as side blind zone alert and Super Cruise are once again back on the options menu after their temporary disappearance.
