GM recalling 656 Cadillac ELR extended range electric vehicles over calibration of Electronic Brake Control Module
29 March 2014
GM is recalling 656 model year 2014 Cadillac ELR vehicles not equipped with adaptive cruise control and manufactured 26 September 2013 through 14 February 2014, and equipped without Adaptive Cruise Control. (NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V-144; GM’s number for this recall is 14087.)
ELRs without Adaptive Cruise Control were built with a calibration that inhibits some Electronic Stability Control (ESC) diagnostics, preventing the system from alerting the driver that the ESC system is partially or fully disabled.
The ESC malfunction indicator light will not illuminate as required, even though ESC functionality will be disabled or degraded. Failure to illuminate the ESC malfunction indicator light when an ESC fault condition is present could result in an increased risk of crashes and injuries.
As such, these vehicles fail to conform with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, “Electronic Stability Control Systems.”
GM will notify owners, and dealers will recalibrate the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM), free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on April 17, 2014.
Meanwhile, GM has decided to replace the ignition switch in all model years of its Chevrolet Cobalt, HHR, Pontiac G5, Solstice and Saturn Ion and Sky in the US, since faulty switches may have been used to repair the vehicles.
The parts are at the center of the company’s ignition switch recall, which includes all 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5; 2003-2007 Saturn Ion; 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR; 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada); 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice; and 2007 Saturn Sky vehicles—about 1.367 million vehicles.
About 95,000 faulty switches were sold to dealers and aftermarket wholesalers. Of those, about 90,000 were used to repair older vehicles that were repaired before they were recalled in February.
Because it is not feasible to track down all the parts, the company is recalling 824,000 more vehicles in the US to ensure that every car has a current ignition switch.
As with the earlier recalls, if the torque performance is not to GM specification, the ignition switch may unintentionally move from the “run” position to the “accessory” or “off” positions, leading to a loss of power. The risk may be increased if the key ring is carrying added weight or if the vehicle goes off road or experiences some jarring event. The timing of the key movement out of the “run” position relative to when the sensing algorithm of a crash may result in the air bags not deploying, increasing the potential for occupant injury in certain kinds of crashes.
Until the recall has been performed, GM is urging customers to remove all items, including the key fob, from their key rings, leaving only the vehicle key.
Trying to locate several thousand switches in a population of 2.2 million vehicles and distributed to thousands of retailers isn’t practical. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling the rest of the model years.
—Mary Barra
Speaking of the Cadillac ELR, I found this and thought it was funny;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGJSI48gkFc
Posted by: ai_vin | 29 March 2014 at 11:08 AM
I suspect that that ad was crafted to paint PHEV owners as jerks to the ecologically-conscious, and assholes to everyone else. IOW, to destroy the PHEV within GM just as the EV1 was destroyed before it.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 29 March 2014 at 09:14 PM
I can't figure out if the GM employees are being worked too hard or not enough. The commercial suggests they identify with the driven individual that never takes a day off. If that is true, then perhaps they would be more focused and less mistake prone if they would get some down time. Maybe take the month of August off. I know the car companies often have down times too, for retooling and other things. So, are they driven and never take any time off? Additionally, are you really working hard and driven to succeed, if what you do is ride a desk or like former employee Lutz, you simply walk around and use your big mouth to manipulate the minions. It's really not that hard or difficult, and it doesn't take a driven individual. It really only takes someone with low morals.
By the way, the guy in the Volt commercial is an actor, and as such, he does not represent reality. It is simply imagination and manipulation. He likely spends 6 months a year goofing off. Besides, just how hard does an actor work? Not hard in actuality. They can get the big money score, but they don't do much for it other than sellout to the facist agenda.
Posted by: Brotherkenny4 | 31 March 2014 at 08:26 AM
There are only 656 cars because they cost $75,000. They may not sell many at that price.
Posted by: SJC | 01 April 2014 at 08:09 AM