GM Recalls Nearly 700,000 Silverado, Sierra Trucks Because Losing Steering Isn’t Normal

While turning the corner to your neighborhood, the last thing you want to do is lose control of your giant truck and careen into your not-so-friendly neighbor’s beautifully manicured flowers. Yet, that could be a possibility for nearly 700,000 General Motors vehicles now being recalled. 

GM says it will recall 690,685 model year 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks after determining the vehicles may contain a defect that could result in loss of steering.

According to a notice [PDF] recently published with the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, the trucks may experience a temporary loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist followed by a sudden return of EPS assist. The issue, GM says, occurs typically during low-speed turning maneuvers.

If EPS assist is lost and suddenly returned, the driver could lose temporary control of the steering wheel, increasing the risk of a crash — and the demolition of your neighbor’s prized petunias.

GM says it first became aware of the issue in Feb. 2017 after receiving customer complaints related to loss of EPS. Tests conducted between April and May found that some of the vehicles contained electrical issues that could cause loss of EPS.

The carmaker will contact affected owners and dealers will perform a reflash of the EPS module software.

GM notes that its newer model Sierra and Silverado trucks already have recalibrated software, meaning they will not contain the issue.