General Motors Announces Six New Recalls Covering 717,949 Vehicles

When we said General Motors‘ recall onslaught wouldn’t end anytime soon, we meant it. The automaker has just issued six new safety recalls covering 717,949 recent model vehicles in the United States, bringing the total number of vehicles it’s recalled so far this year to 28,767,143.

The problem: The first recall is for power height adjustable driver or front passenger seat structures in 2011-2012 model year Chevrolet Camaro, 2010-2012 model year Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, 2011-2012 Buick Regal and LaCrosse and 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX models. GM says the bolt that secures the seat height adjuster actuator “may become loose or fall out.” If the bolt falls out, “the seat will move up and down freely because it is no longer attached at the height adjuster.”

The second recall covers 2014 Chevrolet Caprice, 2014 Chevrolet SS, 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado LD and HD, 2013-2014 Cadillac ATS, 2014 Cadillac CTS, 2014 Cadillac ELR, 2013-2014 Buick Encore and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra LD and HD vehicles “because certain vehicles may have an incomplete weld on the seat hook bracket assembly,” GM says. This was caused by a loss of power to a laser welding machine, resulting in an incomplete weld.

Next, GM has recalled 2011-2013 model year Buick Regal and 2013 model year Chevrolet Malibus for a front-turning signal issue. The driver will receive a flashing turn signal arrow on the instrument cluster if both bulbs are burnt out, and no signal if only one of the bulbs is burnt out.

Also included in this round of recalls are 2014 Chevrolet Impalas equipped with belt-drive electric power steering. Customers may experience reduced or no power steering assist at start-up or while driving due to a poor electrical ground connection to the Power Steering Control Module, GM says. A warning message will be displayed on the Driver Information Center and a chime sounds if the electric steering loses power. GM says steering control can be maintained because the vehicle will revert to manual steering mode, but this “would require greater driver effort particularly at low vehicle speeds.”

2014-2015 Chevrolet Sparks imported from Korea have been recalled for a lower control arm bolt that was not fastened to specification. GM says the condition may result in noise from the front suspension and separation of the lower control arm from the steering knuckle while driving, resulting in loss of steering control.

The smallest recall covers 22 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and GMC Yukon/Yukon Denali models. In these vehicles, the roof carriers may have been attached with the wrong retaining nuts, which may result in holes or tears in the roof rail air bags upon deployment.

Number of vehicles affected: 414,333 2011-2012 model year Chevrolet Camaro 2010-2012 model year Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain 2011-2012 Buick Regal and LaCrosse and 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX models are recalled. The hook bracket assembly on 2014 Chevrolet Caprice, 2014 Chevrolet SS, 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado LD and HD, 2013-2014 Cadillac ATS, 2014 Cadillac CTS, 2014 Cadillac ELR; 2013-2014 Buick Encore and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra LD and HD vehicles covers 124,007 units. 120,426 2011-2013 model year Buick Regal and 2013 model year Chevrolet Malibus are recalled, while the 2014 Impala problem covers 57,242 cars. 1,919 2014-2015 Chevrolet Sparks are recalled, while only 22 Tahoes/Suburbans and GMC Yukon/Yukon Denalis are wrapped in the roof carrier recall.

The fix: Vehicles in the seat structure recall will be inspected by dealers, who will replace the height adjuster bolt. Cars called back for a bad seat hook bracket weld will have the weld inspected by dealers. If the weld is faulty, the seat bracket will be replaced. GM says less than 1 percent of vehicles will have a faulty weld. Vehicles recalled for the turning signal issue will have the body control module reprogrammed by dealers. The 2014 Impala issue will be remedied by inspecting and cleaning paint from behind the ground nut, re-torqueing the nut and updating the power steering control module software. Finally, the Spark recall is fixed by attaching additional bolts to the car’s power steering arm to assure they are tightened to specification, while the full-size SUVs will be repaired by replacing the retaining nuts,

Contacts: Customers wondering if their vehicle has been wrapped up in the millions of cars GM has recalled so far this year may use this website to search recalls using their Vehicle Identification Number. GM also has a comprehensive chart breaking down its recalls to date right here and contact information for the automaker’s individual brands is available here.