Last year, General Motors recalled almost 600,000 vehicles after receiving thousands of reports of engine failures related to its 6.2-liter V8. GM’s solution apparently didn’t fix all of the affected engines, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently expanded its investigation into the post-fix failures, opening an Engineering Analysis to learn more.
Vehicles affected by the expanded investigation include:
- 2021-2026 Cadillac Escalade
- 2021-2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- 2021-2026 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe
- 2021-2026 GMC Sierra
- 2021-2026 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) said it had received 499 owner complaints stating that the engines were still failing after the recall fix. Dealers inspected the engines and either changed the oil viscosity or replaced the entire unit, depending on inspection results. Of the 499 post-fix engine failure reports, 473 vehicles had the oil change solution, and 26 had a complete engine replacement.
Post-recall failures are a bad look, but NHTSA’s 499 complaints pale in comparison to the almost 7,000 post-fix failures reported to GM over the same time period. Half of those reports include allegations that the vehicle lost forward power, creating a dangerous situation. Additionally, almost 200 engines produced outside of the originally defined recall time frame failed, suggesting that GM and its suppliers haven’t finished chasing down manufacturing issues.
With the expansion, the NHTSA’s investigation now covers 997,743 vehicles, but it’s important to note that a new recall hasn’t been announced. The new inquiry adds vehicles with engines produced after May 2024, the original end of the defined recall production timeframe.
