A new vehicle recall is going out across the United States and the execs of this popular American auto giant must be feeling a bit redfaced over the fault. Two brands are affected and the total number of vehicles that need to be taken into a dealership to have the defect seen to exceeds 90,000.
This may be an inconvenience to each of those units’ owners, but it’s important that they heed the recall notice and rectify the fault, not only for their own safety, but that of their passengers, other road users, and pedestrians as well.
90,000 vehicles across the US are being recalled for a transmission fault
Documents relating to this latest recall state that the manufacturer believes only 1% of the units being called in actually have the defect, but to ensure the utmost safety, all 90,081 that have even the slightest chance of putting anyone at risk have to be inspected.
The motor company whose models are affected by the safety recall is General Motors, and the vehicles with the possible transmission fault are luxury sedans released by Chevrolet and Cadillac, two of its main brands.
Front wheels could seize in the middle of driving
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the issues with the transmission (which is the system that transfers power from the engine to the wheels) could cause the front wheels to lock up.
It’s reported that the transmission control valve, which is a mechanism in an automatic transmission system that regulates hydraulic fluid flow to engage and shift gears, may wear out more rapidly than expected. This would cause pressure to be lost over time and drivers would likely first notice that gear shifting becomes harsh and after some time, the front wheels will lock up.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this has already happened to quite a few drivers. GM has recorded 115 field reports of wheels locking up, most of which are likely due to this exact issue. One of the field reports involved an accident.
Which GM models are under a safety recall?
According to the NHTSA notice about GM’s latest recall, only models with a 10-speed transmission have the potential defect. The models listed in the notice are:
- 2020-2021 Cadillac CT4 (2,235 units)
- 2020-2021 Cadillac CT5 (27,097 units)
- 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6 (10,602 units)
- 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro (50,147 units)
This is not the first time
In November 2024, nearly half a million GM vehicles were recalled over a transmission problem that could cause the wheels to lock up, which is the same issue as the latest one with the same risks involved. With the new number of recalled vehicles added, the total is over 500,000 cars.
How is the Cadillac and Chevrolet fault going to be attended to?
Recall notices from GM are set to go out via post to owners of affected Chevrolets and Cadillacs toward the end of April 2025. When owners are contacted by GM, they can make arrangements to deliver their car to a dealership, where it will be inspected and fixed. Transmission control module monitoring software will be installed free of charge to keep an eye on the issue.
Owners who want to check if their Cadillac or Chevrolet is affected by the recall can contact the Cadillac customer service center at 1-800-333-4223, or the Chevrolet customer service center at 1-800-222-1020. The NHTSA vehicle safety hotline can be reached at 1-888-327-4236.
If you drive a Ford, you may want to investigate this latest recall list involving eight faults across a host of models that were all announced on the same day.
For more information about this recall, you can check the N242480630 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.