General Motors has issued a recall for a number of 2017-2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks due to a short circuit issue.
The recall impacts models equipped with the automaker’s Duramax diesel 6.6-liter V8 that include the optional engine-block heater cord. According to the company, a short-circuit can develop in the engine-block heater cable or in the terminals that connect the heater cable to the block heater.
This can trigger coolant leaks and customers may notice smoke or a burning smell, poor block-heater performance, tripped circuit breakers or blown vehicle fuses, damage to the block heater, the heater cable, or engine components, and block-heater coolant pooling under the vehicle.
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GM first became aware of the issue when a a quality manager submitted a report to the company’s Speak Up For Safety program after inspecting an engine-block heater recovered from a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 in February this year. The owner of the truck had reported witnessed sparks from under the hood after the engine block heater was plugged in. The GM quality manager noted that the engine-block heater was leaking coolant.
The Detroit company said that it has 24 reports of fires potentially caused by this problem from December 3, 2019, through May 28, 2021, adding that it is not aware of any injuries relating to this issue.
Vehicles involved in the recall include 208,546 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 models built between July 18, 2016 and May 10, 2019. In addition, 122,728 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 models also built between July 18, 2016 and May 10, 2019 are involved.
General Motors is still in the midst of developing a remedy for the issue and plans to notify owners of the recall on August 16.
