GM's Recall of 90,000 Cars for Gearbox Issue Includes Camaros, Blackwings

Yahoo

17-03-2025

General Motors has issued a recall notice for more than 90,000 examples of the Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac's CT4, CT5 and CT6 sedans to fix a transmission fault that could potentially cause the front wheels of the affected vehicles to lock up
The recall, which was announced on March 6, 2025, includes the 2020-2021 Cadillac CT4 and CT5 models — which, in CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing form, are among our favorites of the best four-door sports cars on sale today — the 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, as well as 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaros, and is centered around GM's 10-speed automatic transmission. Recall documents explain that a transmission control valve is liable to excess wear, eventually causing a loss of pressure via a fluid leak and then harsh shifting or even front wheel lock-up. Obviously, this potential leads to an increased risk of crashing, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says.
The federal agency estimates that only 1% of the 90,081 units included in the recall will be affected by the issue. However, the fix is an essential one, GM explained in its recall filings. The beginning of the fix includes installing a new transmission control module software that monitors the performance of the valve. The software will lie dormant unless it detects excessive wear 10,000 miles before a potential wheel lock-up condition could occur, at which point it will limit the transmission to fifth gear, locking out the upper range of the 'box. GM says this is because the most likely wheel lock-up condition would be during a downshift from eighth gear.
GM first took action around this issue in September 2024 after an internal brand quality manager submitted a report to GM's Speak Up for Safety program. The report claimed that a driver of a 2021 Cadillac CT5 had both front tires lock up while driving before the vehicle went into neutral. This specific model had to have its engine and front differential replaced. The chronology report goes on to say GM had previously investigated the issue but found that the likelihood of such instances was slim enough to prevent a recall. However, after the internal safety report, GM opened an investigation on November 21, 2024, and found 115 field reports by December.
The issue is isolated to the 2019-2022 model years because GM altered manufacturing parts during 2021 and 2022. Specifically, a new transmission control software was installed on 2023 model year Camaros and 2022 model year CT4 and CT5 units. Cadillac CT6 models were retrofitted with the software as early as 2021. In any event, this isolated issue could have been a much bigger headache for GM, especially if an internal safety report hadn't been filed. And as always... this recall also serves as a reminder to fit your car with a manual transmission if it's an option.
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