GM recalls 3.8 million vehicles in the US

General Motors has issued a recall notice of 3.8 million cars including SUVs and pick-up trucks in the US due to concerns about a vacuum pump fault that may potentially make braking more difficult. So far, 113 reports of crashes and 13 injuries are recorded due to the fault. The notice covers the recall of 2014-2018 model vehicles which include Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon vehicles. The firm clarified that cars manufactured after 2018 were not equipped with the affected pump design.

The company officials explained the fault In documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as the amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time, thereby affecting braking in “rare circumstances.” NHTSA further stated, “vehicles may experience brake boost failure, which would require increased brake pedal effort, leading to a hard brake pedal feel, and potentially increased stopping distance.”

To remove the defect, the automaker said its dealers will fix the electronic brake control module to improve the assisting function of hydraulic brake boost when vacuum assist is depleted. The vacuum assist pump is lubricated with engine oil that flows into the pump via a filter screen, but GM said the design may cause the system to lose effectiveness over time due to debris such as oil sludge accumulating on the filter screen. 

Previous to this, the firm has recalled 310,000 vehicles in June for the same concern in Canada, though the clarification on the matter of why US vehicles recalled after two months has not provided. And, in the meantime, the company is also recalling 270,000 more vehicles in the US which include recall of 177,000 2018 Chevrolet Malibu cars with 1.5L turbo engines due to fault in the engine control module software and recall of 91,000 2019 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vehicles because of improper functioning of seat belt-unfastened warning light. 

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