Recall Alert: 2024 Chevrolet and GMC HD Pickup Steering Gears Shattering
If you own a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD or GMC Sierra HD, you better heed the recall today from GM. Parts inside the steering gear of GM HD pickup trucks can shatter, which can cause a loss of steering. Both 2500 HD and 3500 HD trucks are part of the recall. It should take in around 4,000 trucks in total.
The discovery came as a result of a GM “Speak Up For Safety” tip. A quality engineer saw a fractured steering shaft during a truck alignment and reported it to GM’s internal quality control program in June. Once GM was able to contact steering gear supplier Nexteer, it said some assemblies did not have proper heat treating.
Why were there two problems with the steering assembly?
But there’s more. GM found that not only was the heat treating bad, but the supplier used out-of-specification material for some steering components. We would love to hear from Nexteer about how these components, with these omissions, made it out of its plant.
GM says these trucks “may contain a supplier manufacturing defect that may result in a fracture.” So it is issuing a recall for 2024 2500 HD and 3500 HD trucks built between June 7 and June 24, 2023. “If the steering gear shaft fractures and the steering arm becomes disconnected, the driver will be unable to steer the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.”
The good news is that GM is not aware of any accidents or injuries from the defective steering units. These trucks all have steering assemblies with part Nos. 86802095, 86802096, 86802097, 86802098, and 86554125.
Have GM 2500 HD and 3500 HD pickups had a lot of recalls?
There have been several GM 2500 HD, and 3500 HD recalls over the past several years. The most recent was the two separate recalls for fire risks. Brake fluid could short out an adjacent electric switch. The more recent involved 40,000 trucks as that part of the two recalls.
In 2021, over 330,000 2017 to 2019 2500HD and 3500 HD trucks were recalled with 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engines. The problem was with these Duramax trucks with engine block heater cords. In September 2021, GM issued a stop-sale order for 2021 HD trucks. This was for wire chaffing that could cause a fire when those wires short out.
As for this recall today, GM says it will start notifying Sierra and Silverado truck owners by mid-September. Until then, if you might own one of these trucks and have any questions or concerns, you can contact GM’s recall center or visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. Refer to recall No. 23V-549. Also, have your VIN handy, as you’ll need it for vehicle verification.
