GM Recalls 4.3M Vehicles Over Air Bag Defect Linked to 1 Death

DETROIT, MI — General Motors said Friday that it will recall 4.3 million vehicles worldwide over an air bag defect that has been linked to one death and three injuries.

In “rare cases,” the world’s No. 3 automaker said, in-vehicle computers can default to the test mode and front air bags won’t inflate in a crash. Seat belts may also malfunction because of the software problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted a notice Friday that said “certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module software that would prevent the air bag from deploying in the event of the crash.”

In May, GM was informed of a crash involving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, one of the vehicles named in the recall. An investigation began in June.

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The company said dealers will update vehicle software free of charge to its customers to correct the problems with the air bags and seat belts.

Affected vehicles include:

• 2014-2016 model year Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet SS and Spark EV
• 2014-2017 model year Chevrolet Corvette, Trax, Caprice PPV and Silverado 1500; Buick Encore; and GMC Sierra 1500
• 2015-2017 model year Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and Silverado HD; GMC Yukon

Customers can look up their vehicle identification numbers on the NHTSA site or on the GM website here.

Photo by Mark Goebel via Flickr Commons