The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has upgraded and expanded an investigation into nearly 1 million General Motors (GM) pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) over engine failures that led to a recall in 2025, Reuters reported on Aug. 21 citing the NHTSA itself.
Last week, the US-based vehicle safety regulator opened an engineering analysis, a higher-level review than the formal investigation it began this year, to assess whether GM’s remedy was effective. An engineering analysis is a required step before the agency could seek to require an expanded recall or additional repairs.
The vehicles under review include Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Sierra 1500 models equipped with L87 engines from model years (MY) 2021-26.
In 2025, GM recalled nearly 600,000 vehicles from MY 2021-24 to address engine failure concerns, which it attributed to quality issues at a supplier. In many cases, the NHTSA said, engines failed while the vehicles were in motion.
GM has received nearly 7,000 complaints of engine failures in vehicles that had the recall work completed, while the NHTSA said it received 499 complaints. The agency said it also has 191 reports of engine failures in vehicles with the same engine that were not included in the 2025 recall. The recall remedy included inspecting and potentially replacing engines, along with possible oil-system changes.
GM opened three investigations into the issue between 2022 and 2024, then issued the 2025 recall after the NHTSA began its investigation. GM’s investigation last year identified just over 28,000 complaints, with about half of them alleging that the vehicles lost propulsion.
In 2025, GM admitted having identified 12 crashes and 12 injuries in the US that could be related to the issue, as well as 42 reports of fire that were possibly related. The company claimed all alleged injuries were minor.
This content may be AI-assisted and is composed, reviewed, edited and approved by Mobility Global.
