(WXYZ) — "It doesn’t get enough boost to the brakes so your distance to stop is going to be longer," said auto expert John McElroy of the risk for drivers in the wake of a wide ranging recall announced today.
The recall covers the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, and 3500 pickups (2014 to 2018 model years) along with the Cadillac Escalade (2015 to 2017), GMC Yukon, Chevy Suburban and Tahoe (years 2015 to 2018).
In those models, the pump in the power assist brakes can put out less vacuum power, making it difficult for drivers to brake and is believed to be behind 9 crashes, causing two injuries.
The recall comes 10 months after the government’s road safety agency opened an investigation and four months after the automaker recalled more than 300,000 vehicles in Canada over the same faulty issue.
When pressed on the reason for the delay, a GM spokesperson, Dan Flores said “we are taking action now based on field reports and customer complaint information, which we have reviewed over time as we monitored this issue.”
So how do you know if you're at risk? The automaker says you’d notice when driving at low speeds. You could feel vibration in the brake pedal, sense an increased brake pedal effort or hear a ticking noise coming from the engine compartment.
Drivers who see the symptoms are urged to take the car in immediately for what should be an easy fix.
The good news for GM and drivers? Dealers will re-calibrate the electronic brake control module at no cost and no parts will need to be replaced so it should be a relatively simple fix. Impacted drivers will be notified soon.
