General Motors is recalling nearly 3.5 million pickup trucks and SUVs due to a braking problem that has already caused 113 accidents.
The automaker, under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is alerting owners of several vehicles that the pump in power-assisted brakes can put out less vacuum power than needed as it ages, which increases the distance required for the vehicle to stop. So far, the problem has been linked to 113 accidents and 13 injuries.
Included in the recall are the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups made between 2014 and 2018; the Cadillac Escalade from 2015-2017; and the GMC Yukon and Chevy Suburban and Tahoe from the 2015 through 2018 model years.
The NHTSA has been investigating the braking issue since last November after getting complaints of bad brake performance from owners of some of those vehicles. GM says it will fix the issue, but not replace the pump.
It has been a busy year for automaker recalls. Ford, in particular, has had a number of major recalls this year. In January, it recalled 953,000 vehicles as part of the ongoing Takata airbag recall. The following month, it issued three rapid fire recalls on over 1.8 million cars and pickups, including 1.5 million F-150s.
May saw a quarter-million Ford Fusions being recalled over discovering a flaw that could lead to the cars rolling away. And in June, the company recalled more than 1.2 Ford Explorer SUVs after learning of an issue that could result in drivers losing steering control of the vehicles. And in July, it recalled 58,000 vehicles after discovering an issue with the powertrain control module software that could result in a deformed fuel tank.
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