General Motors has issued a safety recall for certain Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles for a problem related to the roof rail airbags.
The problem: affected vehicles, which range from the 2021 to 2022 model years, have factory Hankook tires that may have been manufactured with an insufficient amount of curative agent, which could cause tread separation.
The hazards: if the tire tread does separate, the driver is prone to losing control of the vehicle, and there will be an increased risk of a crash and injury to vehicle occupants.
The fix: GM dealers will inspect the tire DOT numbers and replace any affected tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 20, 2021.
Affected components: any of the four factory Hankook tires.
Affected vehicles:
- 2021 Chevy Equinox
- 2022 Chevy Equinox
- 2021 GMC Terrain
- 2022 GMC Terrain
Number of affected vehicles: a total of 7,082 units were effected, and is comprised of both models across both model years.
Owners should: owners of affected vehicles can wait for GM to reach out to them, at which point they’ll be instructed to make an appointment with a dealership. If owners are unsure whether or not their vehicle is affected by this recall action, they can visit my.gm.com/recalls and type in their VIN to see any open recalls that may be active on it. Affected owners can also reach out to Chevrolet or GMC directly using the contact information included below.
Contacts:
- GM recall number: N212343560
- GMC Customer Service: 1-800-462-8782
- Chevrolet Customer Service: 1-800-222-1020
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Comments
GM is really getting to a point that the tires are really good or really bad. It used to be Most we’re not great but it has gotten worse.
My Terrain came with Handkooks that were forcible in any snow or rain.
I had a Acadia that came with Michelin’s that were total crap and worn out at 20k miles. My HHR SS had Pilots that had no grip dry and worse wet. We’re was 25k with easy driving.
Now my Bridgestone and Goodyear Wranglers were all good on the trucks.
I know automakers do not want to pay for tires unless they have a special need like handling or EV range but please you can do better than these third rate imports or old models that are not worth the air in them.
Those complaints have been going on for decades with all manufacturers. Factory tires aren’t necessarily cheap, particularly since most OEs get them customized (GM TPC). They’re highly optimized, just not for what you want.
Since the vehicle is tested by regulators with the factory tires, they’re firstly optimized for fuel economy, so usually a hard compound with less tread. Next is noise due to pass-by noise regulations and customer satisfaction, so you can’t have an aggressive tread either. Those two factors are why they tend to wear down fast and have mediocre traction.
For replacement tires, manufacturers know that fuel economy isn’t a selling point, and since your car has a few years on it, noise doesn’t matter. They optimize for treadwear (heavily advertised mileage warranties), looks (sells on the showroom floor), and traction.
Actually I have been lucky to know the man who was in charge of the Firestone Bridgestone OE sales and the guy who over saw development of Goodyear tires for Ford.
Both have shared that automakers want to invest nothing in tires unless they have special needs for specific applications. What I stated above was not my opinion but what both told me.
If it was a basic car you get what ever is cheapest and able to hold air to get the cars out of the factory. Yes they have specs but they are minimal and in many cases today are lower than what they used to be.
Case in point EV cars can gain range today so they will pay more for better tires. But yet in the case of the Nox here anything with air holding capacity will fit the bill if they get 30k miles.
Corvettes, V Series and ZL1 will see better tires but the base V6 Camaro they get the cheap stuff like Pirelli tires from South America.
Yes drive by reg compromise but technology has really changed that in recent years with multi compounding treads. Also computer tread designs have changed much in how tires work now.
But according to the men who deal with the automakers the OE mfgs want in most applications cheap. This also is why some tire makers do not supply OE tires or are limited. The hit they take in rep hurts if they supply crap and often there is little money in it.
Sam I do not dispute what you state here as I can see you have some knowledge but there is the other side of the story that also plays a big part here.
Sam, both you and C8.R are correct. You were simple and to the point . The latter tries to show he is the “smartest” in the room, obviously he lacks friends.
Plenty of friends that just happen to be tire engineers.
Sorry if I shared what I learned to help others to be as smart as you think you are.
I tried to keep this to the point!
It simply amazes me that automakers (not just GM) can continually raise prices on their cars while still adding features that really don’t matter and deleting options that do. Case in point with the new Equinox/Terrain. They axed the 2.0L Turbo and left the base 1.5L Turbo in…and kept the 6spd tranny in the Equinox. I drove by a Chevy dealership today and saw they had a ’22 Equinox RS out front. I laughed out loud…there isn’t anything sporty about that vehicle.
Also, automakers will continue to add huge infotainment screens, wireless phone charging/pairing, massaging seats, multi-panel sky roofs, and multiple other things that are not a necessity, but they won’t add to the cost of a vehicle to put in necessary things like automatic headlights, exterior LED lighting across all trims, and tires that last more than 25,000 miles. It costs anywhere from $700 to $1200 to get 80,000 mile warranty tires with decent treads…I would gladly pay for better tires instead of putting over 50 inches worth of display screens in the dash or having a wireless charging pad. I bought a new Durango in 2015…AWD…and always had the tires rotated with every oil change regardless of service recommendations. I needed a new set, not just one or two, a WHOLE set of new tires at 17,000 miles. This was not a burnout machine…the AWD system wouldn’t allow it. I have 37,000 miles on my 2019 Equinox and the tires are starting to go bald…again, rotated with every oil change. What a joke.
The Nox never was sporty.
The trouble is big screens and sun roof sell product and add profits when better tires do nothing for most buyers.
Even in replacement most people add the cheapest black round rings they can get.
LED lighting is often a addition when the vehicle gets the new electrical architecture. It is more than just adding bulbs. Also lenses need redesigned.
Except an 80.000 mile tire is going to ride like garbage and have horrible wet weather performance,. Harder tread compound is not necessarily a good thing.
Exterior LED lighting isn’t a guarantee of superior performance. The HID lighting in the 2018-2021 Equinox is actually rated higher by the IIHS than the LED lighting in the Premier trim across the same model years.
Chevy pretty much made the RS trim an appearance package years ago. Just like Mercedes with their AMG appearance group for non-AMG powered cars, or BMW offering an M appearance package on non-M powered cars. Customers want the look, but not necessarily the performance. The automakers know where the profit lies. Add on a bunch of plastic bits and some “fancy wheels” and way overcharge for it.
My Equinox came with Michelin tires. They were garbage tires that were done by 42,500 miles. Replaced with Cooper tires at 1/2 the cost of the Michelins yet are superior in performance.
GM is just playing the game like every other manufacturer. They are gussying up their cars to dazzle/hypnotize shoppers, but doing so at very calculated profit margins and pricing levels. Once you buy, they don’t care about you unless there is a safety related problem and they are forced to take action.
That is not true any longer. Tires today are doing many things with compounding like adding silicate and pumice to the compund and using up to 3 different compounds to promote traction in some areas and improve durability in high wear areas. It is very complex today.
I had Hanooks on my 2018 Equinox Premier 2.0T, before I sold it, needed new tires and put on Goodyear Assurance Max Life tires, night and day difference. Hankooks were a POS, rode like crap, didn’t get a lot of miles out of them, cheap Chinese junk!
A tire which name literally means “Korea” is Chinese? Right.
My bad, thought they were a Chinese company…either way didn’t like them, there are much better tires out there.
We went to Goodyear Weather Ready Assurance on our Old Acadia and they were so much better in wear.
The new Acadia has a new version of the old Michelin’s. They claim the poor mileage is improved. Will see.
I always joked Hankook was Korean for walking.
They are a cut rate Korean import. They do have some better tires but most are not used for OE. They are no different than most companies. Every mfg has good and board tire models and new or old. New tires are generally new technology and you also get what you pay for.
The Michelin Latitude Tour HP were good riding tires but had horrible tread life. I had 2 pairs on a ’12 SRX, both pairs got around 35k, 55k warranty that they would not honor. They wear evenly but don’t last. The Michelin’s on my Blazer RS are real nice, hope they get close to the 55k they are warranted for.
The tire deal on the average vehicle is often the lowest bidder.
Best set of tires I ever had out the factory were on my 15 Equinox. 18 Inch Michelins that still had plenty of life when I traded the car in with 55k on it.
“General Motors has issued a safety recall for certain Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles for a problem related to the roof rail airbags.”
Am I the ONLY person that noticed the first sentence of this article (above), was about an Airbag Recall ? Not tires !
I went from Goodyears to Coopers to Continentals on my cars. Replaced Hankooks on daughter’s Sonata with Hankooks. OE tires are good enough for the Sunday drivers. Your replacement tires depend on your driving style and ultimately price.
Things will eventually get so bad, that people will complain to their representatives who will then pass and enforce regulations regarding tires. This is a general cycle, industry fails to provide for the public, the public complains to their representative and rules and regulations are passed. Keep this process in mind the next time you think that government is over reaching.