Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, GMC, Acura, and Honda vehicles have been named in the new NHTSA investigation.
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There appears to be something seriously wrong with the eBoost system on several GM products, causing a loss of braking and steering assist functions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that its Office of Defects Investigation has expanded on a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24011) opened on April 11, 2024, escalating to an investigation that could lead to a recall. Numerous brands under the GM umbrella are affected, and since the eBoost system was included in certain Acura and Honda models, they’re being investigated too, with over 1.1 million vehicles in total under the ODI’s magnifying glass. It’s unclear if this is related to recent Cadillac Optiq brake noise complaints, but the investigation comes after several serious incidents.
According to the ODI resume on this issue, the NHTSA estimates that 1,164,820 could be affected from the 2023 to 2026 model years, including the Cruise Origin robotaxi. Thus far, 745 incidents related to the electronic brake module component failure have been reported, including 21 crashes/fires, five injury incidents with six individual injuries, and no fatalities. The problem first appeared on 2023 Cadillac Lyriq EVs, with complaints alleging a hard brake pedal followed by a “Brake System Failure” message appearing on the cluster. GM’s internal investigations revealed that a loss of brake assist was due to alleged spindle fractures in the eBoost system. The automaker says that anti-lock braking, stability control, and traction control systems still work when this happens, at least until the vehicle comes to a complete stop – then the functions are lost. This causes a triggering of one of three diagnostic trouble codes, activating several driver alerts, including a “Service Brake System” message, multiple malfunction indicator lights, and audible chimes. Vehicle speed is also limited to 43 mph. The following vehicles are under investigation:
The NHTSA says that, since opening PE24011 in 2024, the ODI has continued to receive reports of a loss of brake assist, and some of these reports describe symptoms that don’t seem to match a spindle failure. They claim an immediate loss of brake assist functionality, rather than only after the vehicle comes to a stop. This could increase the risk of a crash, as braking distances increase. Thus, the ODI says more analysis is necessary, hence the expansion of the scope of this investigation to encompass all GM vehicles using the eBoost system. This will take some time, and if a recall happens, developing and rolling out a fix won’t be quick. If you drive one of the affected vehicles, take extra care until GM figures out how to resolve this safety issue.
