General Motors (GM) has issued a safety recall for its 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ vehicles, affecting an estimated 62 units.
The recall was initiated on October 12, 2023, under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Recall No. 23V-682. The company has identified a defect in the Body Control Module (BCM) software calibration that compromises pedestrian safety.
“The Body Control Module in these vehicles may have been updated with incorrectly calibrated software. This software may cause the vehicles to fail to emit the pedestrian-warning sounds required by FMVSS 141 while decelerating from 30 to 25 kph,” according to the Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-682.
The defect poses a safety risk as pedestrians may not hear an approaching vehicle, increasing the likelihood of a collision. The flaw was traced back to incorrect calibration values provided by GM’s supplier, DENSO International America. “GM’s supplier inadvertently provided incorrect calibration values to GM’s software calibration management system,” the report stated.
The issue was first flagged by a GM supplier quality engineer on September 8, 2023, through GM’s Speak Up For Safety program. A product investigation was opened on September 22, 2023. GM’s Safety and Field Action Decision Authority decided to conduct the safety recall on October 5, 2023.
As a remedy, dealers will reprogram the BCM with the correct calibration values. All affected vehicles are under warranty, so no reimbursement is offered to owners. The deployment of the flawed software package was halted on September 8, 2023.
Dealers were notified of the recall on October 12, 2023, and owner notifications are expected to begin on November 27, 2023. It’s unfortunate GM is unable to fix this with an over-the-air software update, like Tesla for example.
The recall report was submitted in accordance with 49 CFR §573, and GM is not aware of any field incidents related to this condition.
Back in February 2022, the NHTSA told Tesla to fix its pedestrian speaker as Boombox sounds were able to override the sound when cars were reversing. The NHTSA also removed the ability for cars to drive with the Boombox speaker live.
