DETROIT — General Motors issued a second recall Jan. 28 to fix issues caused by software intended to resolve a Dec. 12 callback for brake safety issues in some 2019 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Cadillac CT6 vehicles.
The original recall included about 550,000 vehicles globally, out of which about 162,000 were repaired with the flawed software, GM spokesman Dan Flores told Automotive News on Wednesday.
The first software error could disable the vehicle’s electronic stability control or the antilock braking system, and no error indicators would illuminate, according to NHTSA documents. No accidents or injuries were reported in relation to the original recall.
The new recall, originally reported by the Detroit Free Press on Jan. 29, will include 128,519 vehicles in the U.S., Flores said.
“We have a group of people who look for trends to find problems early,” he said. “Soon after we started realizing there were a bunch of warranty claims related to this recall repair. … Unfortunately, the original fix caused other issues.”
Owners of vehicles repaired in the original recall reported instances of electronic braking system failure with illuminated dashboard error indicators, according to complaints on the NHTSA website.
“Started the truck and many service lights came on,” an owner of a 2019 Sierra said in a complaint to NHTSA dated Feb. 2. “OnStar called and said I had a brake failure. I was backing out of [the] driveway and could hardly stop the truck as I was approaching the road.”
The secondary software error, Flores said, happens when a driver uses the OnStar app to start the vehicle.
About 1,600 to 1,700 owners with the first software revision reported issues from the repair, he said.
“Under the revised repair, dealers will re-flash the vehicles’ electronic brake control module with a new calibration that resolves the initial issue and the recent complaints,” Flores said in an emailed statement.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause our customers who will need to return to their dealership for additional servicing. The safety of our customers is the overriding priority in everything we do.”
GM made the revised software for the new recall available to dealers Jan. 16 and officially notified NHTSA of the recall Jan. 28, he said.