GM Begins Massive Takata Airbag Recall with 2.6 Million Vehicles

General Motors is finally putting its Takata airbag problem behind for good by starting a massive recall next month involving 2.6 million trucks and SUVs.

Following an order issued by the federal government last year to recall vehicles equipped with the faulty Takata airbags, as well as GM’s lengthy petition to reverse it, the automaker has now filed recall documents with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall process is set to begin on March 1 with GM’s bigger vehicles first in line.

The vehicles included in the recall are part of the six million trucks and SUVs that the government wants the company to recall. This will be the first batch and will include units from the 2007 through 2014 model years.

Among the models covered by the recall are the 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, as well as the 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500, and Sierra 3500.

According to GM, this batch comprises vehicles sold, registered, or currently in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and the territory of Puerto Rico.

Also part of the list is the 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and the Yukon XL that were either originally sold or some time registered in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia. Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

GM specified that the affected vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger front airbag inflators with phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate propellant. However, the said propellant has the tendency to degrade over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity.

Degrading of the propellant in the inflators can cause an explosion upon deployment of the airbags, which can then send shrapnel flying at passengers during a crash.

Owners of the vehicles in question can expect to receive their recall notifications starting March 1 although complete remedy for the problem remains unavailable as of writing.

GM will send a separate mail to customers to instruct them to bring their vehicles to a dealer for the free installation of a new front passenger airbag.