General Motors is recalling a recall that has now grown to 331,274 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500 and 2017-2019 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. They are equipped with a Duramax diesel 6.6-liter engine and an optional engine-block heater cord. An electrical short-circuit may occur in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.
The customer may notice smoke or a burning smell and/or poor block-heater performance, tripped circuit breakers or blown vehicle fuses, damage to the block heater, the heater cable, or engine components as well as block-heater coolant pooling under the vehicle.
Dealers will disable the block heater. GM will provide free replacement block heaters and cords under a separate customer satisfaction campaign. For vehicles previously included in recall 19V-328, the heater cord will be replaced and rerouted, free of charge as required by law.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed 16 August 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM’s number for this recall is 212329840. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov. GM production records indicate the vehicles were built with the Duramax diesel 6.6-liter engine (L5P) and the engine heater power cord (K05). Vehicles that do not have this option combination are not included in this recall.
Chronology
On February 3, 2021, a GM quality manager submitted a report to GM’s Speak Up For Safety program after inspecting an engine-block heater recovered from a 2019 model year Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The owner reported sparking from under the hood after the engine block heater was plugged in. The engine-block heater was leaking coolant, and the engineer observed thermal damage at the connection between the heater and the block-heater power cable. This vehicle had previously been “remedied for this condition under 19V328.” Editor’s Translation: The fix didn’t fix the fire problem.
GM’s initial analysis identified nineteen potential fires involving engine-block heaters in vehicles remedied under 19V328. Based on this data, GM opened a formal product investigation on March 23, 2021.
GM’s investigator completed a thorough analysis of available field data on May 28, 2021 that showed GM received 122 related complaints and 24 reports of potential fires between December 3, 2019 and May 28, 2021 involving vehicles that received the recall remedy under 19V328. Based on this data, on June 24, 2021, GM’s Safety Field Action Decision Authority (SFADA) decided to conduct a safety recall on 2017-2019 model year Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500/3500 vehicles equipped with the Duramax diesel 6.6 liter engine and the optional block-heater power cable.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Silverado, Sierra Pickups Recalled Again for Block Heater Fires
General Motors is recalling a recall that has now grown to 331,274 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 3500 and 2017-2019 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles. They are equipped with a Duramax diesel 6.6-liter engine and an optional engine-block heater cord. An electrical short-circuit may occur in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.
The customer may notice smoke or a burning smell and/or poor block-heater performance, tripped circuit breakers or blown vehicle fuses, damage to the block heater, the heater cable, or engine components as well as block-heater coolant pooling under the vehicle.
Dealers will disable the block heater. GM will provide free replacement block heaters and cords under a separate customer satisfaction campaign. For vehicles previously included in recall 19V-328, the heater cord will be replaced and rerouted, free of charge as required by law.
Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed 16 August 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM’s number for this recall is 212329840. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov. GM production records indicate the vehicles were built with the Duramax diesel 6.6-liter engine (L5P) and the engine heater power cord (K05). Vehicles that do not have this option combination are not included in this recall.
Chronology
On February 3, 2021, a GM quality manager submitted a report to GM’s Speak Up For Safety program after inspecting an engine-block heater recovered from a 2019 model year Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The owner reported sparking from under the hood after the engine block heater was plugged in. The engine-block heater was leaking coolant, and the engineer observed thermal damage at the connection between the heater and the block-heater power cable. This vehicle had previously been “remedied for this condition under 19V328.” Editor’s Translation: The fix didn’t fix the fire problem.
GM’s initial analysis identified nineteen potential fires involving engine-block heaters in vehicles remedied under 19V328. Based on this data, GM opened a formal product investigation on March 23, 2021.
GM’s investigator completed a thorough analysis of available field data on May 28, 2021 that showed GM received 122 related complaints and 24 reports of potential fires between December 3, 2019 and May 28, 2021 involving vehicles that received the recall remedy under 19V328. Based on this data, on June 24, 2021, GM’s Safety Field Action Decision Authority (SFADA) decided to conduct a safety recall on 2017-2019 model year Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500/3500 vehicles equipped with the Duramax diesel 6.6 liter engine and the optional block-heater power cable.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.