Nearly 700,000 GM vehicles with airbag issue recalled

General Motors is recalling 692,526 of the following vehicles:

• Model year 2013 Cadillac Escalades, Escalade ESVs, and 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."
• Model year 2010 Cadillac Escalades, Escalade ESVs, and 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 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."
• Model year 2009 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 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."

The vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger front airbag inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. The 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 N212328790.