By Steven Symes 
We’ve been hearing about problems with newer GM trucks and SUVs suffering from sudden engine failure, but now there’s a safety recall for that very thing. The auto giant is recalling about 721,000 popular trucks and SUVs from Cadillacs to Chevrolets that have the 6.2-liter V8 engine.
Ford recently issued another wave of safety recalls.
Apparently, sometimes the engine is failing while vehicles are traveling down the road, which can lead to a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating this issue, which apparently is caused by some sort of internal defect (Ford and Mopar guys are going to have fun with this).
That investigation is still ongoing, but for now it seems GM has decided to voluntarily issue the recall and just replace any possibly defective engines. Here in the US, there are about 598,000 affected trucks and SUVs.
The recall is for 2021 to 2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevy Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, plus Yukon XL models with the 6.2-liter V8.
While the engine might buy the farm, leaving you stranded or worst case scenario cutting all power as you’re going 85 mph on the highway, there’s also a chance the defect could result in power being reduced. That’s still crazy on an essentially brand new truck.
According to GM, it believes the crankshaft and connecting rods in some engines were damaged when they were manufactured. Why this problem wasn’t detected and corrected at the factory is an excellent question for someone in quality control.
Dealers will be inspecting recalled vehicles for signs of the damage. If the engine passes muster, technicians are still directed by GM to replace the oil filter and cap, then add 0W-40 oil to ensure proper operation moving forward.
If an engine is found to have a damaged crank or rods, it will be replaced free of charge.
This comes after Toyota issued a recall for one of its new engines that also suffered from sudden failures, opting to replace all of them. It seems this sort of thing has become all too common lately.
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