General Motors is recalling 284,645 of the following vehicles:
- Model year 2012 Cadillac Escalades, Escalade ESVs, Escalade EXTs, Chevrolet Avalanches, Silverado 1500s, Silverado 2500s/3500s, Suburbans, Tahoes, GMC Sierra 1500s, Sierra 2500s/3500s, Yukons and Yukon XLs originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A."
The vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger front airbag 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.
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
What to do
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger airbag inflator with an alternate one free of charge.
Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed beginning March 1, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available.
Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at (800) 458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at (800) 222-1020, and GMC customer service at (800) 462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328770.