Recall · 21V052000
General Motors recalled 14 models over air bags
557,023
Vehicles covered
14
Models
34
Model years
February 5, 2021
Filed with NHTSA
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- The defect
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
- What it can cause
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- What the dealer does
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328780.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| CadillacEscalade | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| CadillacEscalade ESV | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| CadillacEscalade EXT | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletAvalanche | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletSilverado 1500 | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletSilverado 2500 | 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletSilverado 3500 | 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletSuburban | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| ChevroletTahoe | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| GMCSierra 1500 | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| GMCSierra 2500 | 2009 | Not published here |
| GMCSierra 3500 | 2009 | Not published here |
| GMCYukon | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
| GMCYukon XL | 2007 to 2009 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 557,023 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 98% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2007 to 2009, so the oldest vehicles on it were 14 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Chevrolet vehicles have been recalled over the air bags 58 times before this, most recently in November 2020 as 20V736000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 33 of the 34 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 7,916 complaints with NHTSA, 7,179 of them before this campaign was filed. 4,069 of those name the air bags, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in March 2006, 14 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 2 other recalls published here: 21V053000 (air bags), 21V050000 (air bags).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by General Motors, LLC with NHTSA on February 5, 2021 as campaign 21V052000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2021-02-05.
Independent developer and analyst