General Motors Canada has recalled nearly 100,000 full-size pickup trucks and SUVs to address a steering fault that could cause a loss of power assist.
According to Transport Canada's recall notice, the trucks could "experience a temporary loss of electric power steering assist followed by a sudden return of EPS assist," a condition that, while most common in low-speed turns, could affect vehicle control and cause a crash.
GM says a software bug is behind the fault, and vehicles that revert to manual steering as a result would flash a dashboard warning message indicating a power steering failure, which could also affect any combination of systems including the truck's radio, stability control system, driver information centre (which is, ironically, where the warning message would show up), door locks and door chime, air conditioning and cruise control.
Vehicles affected are the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe, and the GMC Sierra and Yukon, all from the 2015 model year. GM's fix is an update to the EPS module's software, which will be done free of charge by dealer service departments.
The campaign affects about a million vehicles in North America. Last year in Canada, GM recalled more than 79,000 Silverado and Sierra pickups from the 2014 model year trucks to fix the same problem.