- GM is recalling thousands of vehicles equipped with a ten-speed automatic transmission.
- The gearbox has a valve that can wear and cause the front wheels to lock-up while driving.
- According to the NHTSA, 115 lock-up incidents and one accident have been reported.
General Motors is recalling nearly 100,000 Cadillac and Chevrolet Camaro models due to a problem with their ten-speed automatic transmission. The gearbox can be damaged internally, which could cause the front wheels to lock-up.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the cars are equipped with a transmission control valve that is susceptible to excess wear over time. This can result in a gradual loss of pressure, which causes harsh shifting. If things get really bad, the front wheels may momentarily lock-up.
A Delayed Response from GM
Alarm bells started going off in September of 2024, when the owner of a 2021 Cadillac CT5 reported that both front wheels locked up while driving and the car went into neutral. This caused extensive damage as the engine and front differential had to be replaced.
More: Chevy Camaro Successor Reportedly Scrapped, But GM Says Nothing Confirmed
Interestingly, GM was aware of the issue and had already determined that, “in some applications, excessive wear in a control valve … was causing harsh downshifting and, in rare cases, a momentary (<150 ms) lock-up of the wheels.” While that’s pretty bad, the automaker decided this was “not sufficient to cause a loss of vehicle control.”
However, with a real-world case of lock-up, a new investigation was launched. This uncovered 115 field reports of alleged lock-ups as well as one accident. Thankfully, this pushed the automaker to act and conduct a recall.
Which Specific Models Are Affected?
The recall impacts 90,081 vehicles including the 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, 2020-2021 Cadillac CT4, 2020-2021 Cadillac CT5, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro. The Camaro is the hardest hit as 50,147 units are being recalled, which is nearly twice the number of CT5s.
As part of the recall, dealers will install new transmission control module software that will “detect excess wear approximately 10,000 miles (16,093 km) before a wheel lock-up condition could occur.” Once this happens, the ten-speed automatic transmission will be limited to fifth gear until the next key cycle. This is designed to prevent lock-ups that happen when the transmission downshifts from eighth gear. Besides nerfing the gearbox, software will activate the service engine light and a reduced propulsion message.
That doesn’t sound like much of a fix, but owner notifications are scheduled to go out in April. However, the company only has software for a handful of vehicles – including the CT4, CT5, and some CT6s – at this point.
