NHTSA Investigates Possible Air Bag Failures in GM Vehicles

Chevy Silverado
Some Chevrolet Silverado model years are part of the probe. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

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DETROIT — The U.S. government’s highway safety agency is investigating complaints that the air bags may not inflate in a crash on thousands of General Motors vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the probe covers nearly 750,000 Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC vehicles from the 2020 and 2021 model years.

Most are full-size pickup trucks and SUVs.



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The agency said in documents posted March 13 on its website that it has 15 complaints of air bag malfunctions, including six crashes with eight reported injuries. It also has eight field reports.

NHTSA said that GM issued a service bulletin to dealers about the problem in March, but there hasn’t been a recall. The bulletin said rust particles can accumulate on a driver’s air bag connection terminal. That can cause the air bag malfunction light to come on and could stop the air bags from inflating.

The agency said it opened the investigation to figure out how large the problem is and to assess safety issues.

The probe covers Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups as well as Chevy Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. Also included are GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs, and the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans and XT4 SUVs.

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