- GM is recalling thousands of vehicles equipped with a ten-speed automatic transmission.
- The gearbox has a valve that can wear and cause the wheels to lock-up while driving.
- According to the NHTSA, 115 lock-up incidents and one accident have been reported.
Update: We reached out to GM for clarification on the NHTSA document that flagged the recall, specifically the part where it states, “The transmission may become damaged internally and cause the front wheels to lock up.” It turns out, the front-wheel lock-up only happens on AWD models—like the Cadillac CT5 incident referenced in the report—although NHTSA didn’t explicitly mention this distinction.
“Please note that in our recall defect description, we do not state ‘front wheel lock up.’ Rather, we say ‘… the wheels may experience a momentary lock up,'” a GM spokesperson told Carscoops. “Therefore, this rare occurrence would only be a possible issue for only rear wheels on rear-wheel drive vehicles and a possible issue for front wheels or rear wheels on all-wheel drive vehicles. The CT5 mentioned in GM’s voluntary safety recall report that experienced the momentary front-wheel lock up was an all-wheel drive vehicle.”
Original story follows below.
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 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 wheels may momentarily lock-up.
A Delayed Response from GM
Alarm bells rang in September 2024 when the owner of a 2021Cadillac CT5, which was an AWD model, reported that both front wheels locked while driving, causing the car to shift into neutral. The incident led to extensive damage, requiring the replacement of both the engine and front differential.
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.
