Thousands Of Chevrolet Silverado Pickups Could Host An Impromptu Bonfire
A new recall was issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration yesterday, affecting 62,468 vehicles that may be at risk of catching fire. According to the NHTSA recall documents, Chevrolet Silverado Medium Duty pickups (4500HD, 5500HD, 6500HD) produced from 2019-2024 may have a fault within their brake pressure sensor assemblies that could lead to a brake fluid leak. In the worst cases, after this brake fluid leaks into the brake pressure switch and causes a short circuit, a fire can break out. As a result, "owners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the recall repair is complete."
The recall places the blame for the issue on the use of an unauthorized chemical by the supplier of the brake assembly, and it appears to be something that GM has been working on for some time. A recall was issued in April 2023 to address a fragmenting zinc sealant that could interfere with a diaphragm that prevents brake fluid from leaking into the sensor wiring harness. Then, in October of 2024, a quality manager flagged an issue with a 2023 Silverado Medium Duty pickup "that was exhibiting unintended brake pump activation." This vehicle was not covered by the earlier recall, and when another similar report was filed over a 2021 vehicle, GM knew there was an issue.
The automaker investigated in January 2025, and in March, it asked its supplier (Akron Rubber Development Lab) to test its components. Testing was completed by the end of April, by which point GM's investigator identified one alleged fire among 160 potentially related reports, prompting the recall. No accidents or injuries related to the issue have come to GM's attention.
Related: 132,000 Lincoln Aviators Recalled for Parts That Could Fly Off While Driving
Vehicles that were already recalled under the April 2023 notice will need to be repaired again, and owners can expect to receive notification letters in the mail from July 28, with secondary letters to be mailed once a remedy is available. When it is, dealers will replace the brake pressure switch wire harness free of charge. Fortunately, although all owners impacted by the recall should play it safe and park outside and away from buildings, only around 1% of the recalled vehicles are expected to be affected. Silverado Medium Duty trucks from the 2024 model year are not affected since they were "produced with a brake switch wire harness that includes a silicone sealant."
This new recall follows one that was issued at the end of last month for Cadillac Lyriq EVs that could have blank touchscreen displays, an issue that first appeared in 2022. Whether it's a novel EV or an old-school workhorse, recalls are just a part of production, and GM can at least take comfort in the knowledge that it's having a much better time with the NHTSA than Ford.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
19 minutes ago
- CNBC
Tesla says it made its first driverless delivery of a new car to a customer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker completed its first driverless delivery of a new car to a customer, routing a Model Y SUV from the company's Austin, Texas, Gigafactory to an apartment building in the area on June 27. The Tesla account on social network X, which is also owned by Musk, shared a video overnight showing the Model Y traversing public roads in Austin, including highways, with no human in the driver's seat or front passenger seat of the car. Tesla did not say which version of its software and hardware had been installed and used in the car shown in the clip — or if and when that technology would be commercially available to its customers. A Model Y owners' manual, available on the Tesla website, says that in order to use Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) option — which is the company's most advanced, partially automated driving system available today — owners must keep their hands on the wheel, and remain ready to take over steering or braking at any time. The vehicle in Tesla's video was shown operating without a driver on the highway, passing through residential streets and around parking lots before arriving and stopping for a handoff to a customer. The buyer was waiting by the curb at an apartment building alongside Tesla employees, some sporting logo-emblazoned shirts. (The curb was painted red, indicating it is a no-stop fire lane.) In 2016, Tesla shared an Autopilot video — known as the "Paint It Black" video — that had been staged in a manner which exaggerated its cars self-driving capabilities, depositions later revealed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Tesla over possible safety defects in their FSD systems, and recently sought more information from the company about its robotaxi debut after its cars were seen violating some traffic rules. In posts on X on Friday, Musk wrote: "The first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from factory to a customer home across town, including highways, was just completed a day ahead of schedule!! Congratulations to the @Tesla_AI teams, both software & AI chip design!" He also wrote, "There were no people in the car at all and no remote operators in control at any point. FULLY autonomous! To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fully autonomous drive with no people in the car or remotely operating the car on a public highway." Musk's claim about the "first fully autonomous drive" on a public highway was not accurate. Alphabet-owned Waymo, which is already operating commercial robotaxi services across multiple U.S. cities, has been offering employees fully autonomous rides on Phoenix freeways since 2024, and has since expanded those rides to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Head of AI at Tesla, Ashok Elluswamy, said in posts on X that the automaker "literally chose a random customer who ordered a Model Y in the Austin area" to participate. He also said the vehicle delivered is "exactly the same as every Model Y produced in the Tesla factory." Elluswamy also noted in a post on X that the Model Y in the driverless delivery traveled at a "max speed of 72 mph." Most highways in Texas have a maximum speed limit of 70 miles per hour, according to the Texas Department of Transportation website. Separately, Tesla began a robotaxi pilot program in Austin last weekend involving 10 to 20 of its Model Y SUVs equipped with technology, about which Tesla has revealed little to the public. The Tesla robotaxi service is available only to select, invited riders who have mostly been influencers and analysts, many of whom generate income by posting Tesla-fan content on platforms like X and YouTube. The Tesla robotaxi vehicles run with a human safety supervisor on board in the front passenger seat, and are remotely supervised by employees in an operations center. Since 2016, Musk has been promising that Tesla would soon be able to turn all of its existing EVs into fully autonomous vehicles with a simple, over-the-air software update. In his Master Plan, Part Deux, he outlined a future where every Tesla owner would be able to add their car to a "Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app," enabling their car to generate income for them while they sleep. In 2019, Musk said Tesla would have 1 million robotaxis on the road by 2020 — a claim that helped him raise $2 billion at the time from institutional investors. While Tesla has not fulfilled those promises thus far, the driverless delivery in Texas this week has elicited excitement among believers in Musk and his vision. Meanwhile, Tesla is battling a brand backlash in response to the CEO's often incendiary political rhetoric, his endorsements of Germany's far-right extremist party AfD, and his work for the Trump administration. Tesla sales have declined year-over-year in key markets, especially throughout Europe, in the first five months of 2025 partly as a result of that backlash. The company is also facing increased competition from EV makers, particularly Chinese brands such as BYD, Nio and Xiaomi, offering more affordable and newer models. Tesla is expected to disclose its second-quarter vehicle production and delivery numbers on July 2.
Digital Trends
2 hours ago
- Digital Trends
This week in EV tech: What makes a good luxury EV?
Whether it's an established automaker trying something new or a freshly-funded startup looking to find its niche, electric cars present more questions than which battery supplier or charging standard to use. They give automakers a chance to define — or redefine — themselves. But while self-reinvention can be invigorating, it's not always necessary. In this century, Bentley has crafted a distinctive and appealing identity for itself, and its ultra-wealthy customers aren't exactly the best target audience for EVs. Yet the automaker does still plan for an all-electric lineup by 2035. A recent drive of the storied British automaker's current lineup shows that an electric Bentley can still be a Bentley. Recommended Videos Big cars with big personality After decades in the shadow of Rolls-Royce, Bentley has enjoyed a renaissance under the stewardship of the Volkswagen Group. Ornate yet aggressive, modern Bentleys maintain the brand's high-end status while offering a sporty driving experience that nods to its legendary racing exploits. Epitomizing that is the new Bentley Bentayga Speed. This latest version of Bentley's only SUV is appropriately kitted out for a roughly $280,000 car, with soft leather, carpets that wouldn't look out of place in your living room, and a refined ride. Riding in the back seat for the trip from the hotel to the airport was just as comfortable as the first row, a sensation best described as the automotive equivalent of wear noise-cancelling headphones. But slip behind the wheel and put your foot down, and the Bentayga Speed provides a completely different experience. Despite looking inside and out like a cartoon caricature of a rich person's country-club shuttle, The Bentayga Speed devours tarmac in a way that would make its distant race-car ancestors proud. Rear-wheel steering, torque vectoring, and the biggest brake rotors on a production car (at 17.3 inches, they're bigger than the standard wheels on a Toyota Corolla) help the Bentayga defy its considerable curb weight in corners, while a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 does the same for the straights. Last of the (non-hybrid) V8s An upgraded version of the engine used in others versions of the Bentayga, this V8 generates 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That propels the Bentayga Speed from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 193 mph, according to Bentley. That makes this the quickest-accelerating and fastest iteration of the Bentayga yet, but a Lucid Gravity matches its zero to 60 mph time with a pair of electric motors (which generate even more power). With the rest of Bentley's lineup switching to plug-in hybrid powertrains, the Bentayga Speed will likely be the brand's last volume-production model without some form of electric assist. Bentley representatives said this imbues the non-hybrid Speed with a better power-to-weight ratio, but based on previous experience in the plug-in hybrid Continental GT Speed coupe and a quick spin in a Flying Spur plug-in hybrid sedan, it's hard to imagine hybrid system not making up for any deficit. And while the Bentayga handled impressively well for a heavy vehicle, there's nothing technically keeping the Bentley engineering team from imbuing an EV with similar qualities, as the sharp-handling Gravity again demonstrates. What really sets the Bentayga Speed apart is its soundtrack. The roar of a V8 is the quintessential automotive sound, and it plays here without any artificial augmentation, and enhanced by an available titanium exhaust system. Perhaps it's the conditioning of endless television and movie sound effects, but it's hard to separate the sound of a V8 from the act of driving. So much so that, even though it's perfectly pleasant to cruise along on electric power in one of Bentley's plug-in hybrids, it's all too tempting to fire up the engine just to hear it — even if that defeats the purpose of these hybrid powertrains. Engaging the senses Future Bentley EVs may be quieter, but the automaker will still be able to engage the senses through its artful interiors. The quality of the leather upholstery and wood trim, or the imaginativeness of the color palette, aren't dependent on the powertrain, after all. And Bentley's experience with making big, heavy vehicles handle properly should give it a head start on developing vehicles upwards of 1,000 pounds of batteries crammed into them. In fact, there's very little about the Bentley character that can't be applied to an EV — if the automaker chooses to. Bentley announced last year that its first EV would be a 'luxury urban SUV' that won't replace any of its existing models, and will be smaller than the Bentayga. That hints at an entry-level model slotting below the current SUV, so the real question isn't whether an EV can be a Bentley, but whether Bentley will make this one a watered-down model designed to hit a certain price point or volume. That's essentially the same strategy it took with the Bentayga, and on versions that aren't fully kitted out, the parts sharing with other Volkswagen Group brands that made that happen is apparent. Bentley should really be moving in the opposite direction. Electrified performance vehicles continue to show their stuff While few EVs reach the heights of luxury Bentley is known for, performance is an EV specialty. This week, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the AMG GT XX concept, previewing the first dedicated EV from its AMG performance division. A low-slung four-door with a trio of axial-flux motors producing 1,341 horsepower, it features battery tech created with lessons learned from Formula One racing, and 850-kilowatt fast-charging hardware that would dramatically cut charging times if implemented on a production car. The annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has become a showcase for EV performance, and this year was no different. A modified Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and a purpose-built racer loosely based on the Ford Mustang Mach-E both won their classes. Competitors aim for the best time over a 12.4-mile course that climbs to the 14,115-foot summit of Colorado's Pikes Peak, an altitude high enough to affect the performance of internal-combustion engines. That's not a concern for EVs though, which is one holds the overall record. Speaking of records, Porsche proved that its latest Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid is faster around a track than its non-hybrid Turbo S predecessor. The 621-hp plug-in hybrid shaved half a second off the old model's lap time at Road Atlanta with a 1:30.9-second time that Porsche claims is a new record for production sedans at the Georgia track.
Car and Driver
3 hours ago
- Car and Driver
GM Trucks Are Too Easy to Steal, According to a Key-Fob Lawsuit
A class-action lawsuit alleges that GM full-size trucks are too easy to steal. The lawsuit specifically covers the issue of ignition key fobs being cloned. 2010–2025 models of the GMC Sierra and Yukon; Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and Silverado; and Cadillac Escalade are all named in the lawsuit. Modern vehicles are full of all sorts of factory-installed devices to prevent or deter theft, from immobilizers to alarm systems. The problem is, of course, that thieves evolve their toolkits to defeat whatever the current technology throws up as a defense. The days of hot-wiring or jamming a screwdriver into an ignition socket are long over, but a well-equipped thief is still perfectly capable of making your car gone in 60 seconds. Or less. Most manufacturers work hard on this thorny issue, trying to stay ahead of would-be car thieves. It's not just trying to please existing customers, but high rates of theft can impact insurance and drive shoppers elsewhere. However, a new class-action lawsuit brought against GM is claiming that General Motors isn't doing enough. Andi Hedrick The lawsuit, filed in Texas courts, alleges that GM ignored vulnerabilities in the keyless entry systems for certain full-size trucks and SUVs from Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac. It claims that GM knew the key fobs and ignition systems could be easily overpowered by inexpensive signal cloning devices, technology that's readily available to car thieves. Plaintiff Jeremy Burkett says his 2016 GMC Sierra was stolen right out of his driveway three years ago. He's since replaced the vehicle with a 2023 GMC Sierra, but in the lawsuit notes that he believes it to be vulnerable as well. Two years ago, Hyundai and Kia reached a $200 million settlement with owners of easily stolen cars. These vehicles, mostly the base models without keyless push-button ignitions, were the subject of a viral trend on the social media site TikTok. Dubbed the Kia Challenge, the fad saw the theft rate of Kia and Hyundai models skyrocket 25 times over the previous year's average. GM has previously faced a similar lawsuit over the security systems of the 2010–2023 Camaro. This new suit affects a wider range of cars, and as newer Yukons and Escalades are popular targets for theft, it could be a major pain for the company. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
