General Motors to recall more than 4 million vehicles worldwide amid a software defect
The GM vehicles that will be recalled include various Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac models that were manufactured between 2014 and 2017 Reuters

US car company General Motors is recalling nearly 4.3 million vehicles worldwide. This is amid a software bug that prevents air bags from deploying during a crash. The defect is said to have already led to one death and three injuries.

The recall was revealed by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a US government agency responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses from motor vehicle crashes. In a statement, the agency said that the vehicles included in the recall were made between 2014 and 2017. The models that will be recalled include:

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2015-2017: Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles

2014-2017: Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and

2014-2016: Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles

With regards to the defect, NHTSA explained, "In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash."

The agency further said that the American automaker would notify the owners of these models of the recall. Once recalled, the respective dealers will reflash the SDM software. "Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge," NHTSA said.

The NHTSA said while GM was yet to provide a notification schedule, owners could contact their respective customer service centres. "Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007," it said.

This week has seen many automakers recall their cars. While Honda recalled 668,000 cars, BMW recalled 110,000 cars. Both of these were in Japan and were over the same issue of defective air bags, manufactured by Takata Corporation.