General Motors, LLC: Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module
General Motors, LLC reported this defect to federal regulators on Feb 5, 2021 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 284,645. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of 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." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal 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.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328770.
14 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Cadillac Escalade | 20 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2012 Cadillac Escalade Esv | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 Cadillac Escalade EXT | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Avalanche | 36 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 | 216 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Suburban | 101 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe | 178 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 2012 GMC Sierra 1500 | 107 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012 GMC Sierra 2500 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 GMC Sierra 3500 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 GMC Yukon | 63 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 GMC Yukon XL | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 21V051000.
Full record for the 2012 Cadillac Escalade → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →