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.
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.