General Motors has issued a recall on 40,428 medium-duty trucks, built by Navistar Inc. for the automaker, because brake fluid leaking into a pressure sensor assembly can cause a fire.
GM has reported 11 instances of fire, smoke or flames in 2019 to 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD, 550HD and 6500HD Class 4-6 trucks between July 2021 and January this year.
Navstar is the contract manufacturer of GM’s medium-duty trucks.
GM opened a product investigation in August following a claim of a vehicle fire in a 2019 Silverado medium-duty truck. Both GM and Navstar could not duplicate the condition of the original complaint. But a later warranty return of a sensor showed heat damage.
Further analysis showed brake fluid was present past the diaphragm seal, into the brake pressure switch and through the actual wire harness into the pump’s fuse.
GM dealers will replace the master cylinder pressure sensor free of charge. Dealer will also inspect the associated wire harness and replace it, if necessary.
As of March 23, 2023, the replacement pressure sensor assemblies in production do not use the faulty corrosion inhibitor sealant.
Dealers were notified of the recall on April 13. Customer letters will be mailed May 29. The NHTSA recall number is 23V-266.
