GM halts deliveries of certain 2012-13 vehicles to fix software glitch
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DETROIT -- General Motors has stopped the sale of several of its most popular 2013 vehicles because of a software glitch that affects their OnStar communication systems.
GM spokesman Alan Adler said late Friday that GM is working to fix the problem on 60,000 vehicles on dealer lots. The affected models are the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox and Volt; the Cadillac XTS and ATS; the Buick Verano and the GMC Terrain. The 2012 Cadillac SRX is also affected.
"This should be wrapped up in days, maybe into next week," Adler said.
A software problem prevents OnStar's crash notification system from sending an alert to the OnStar call center in accidents that do not trigger an airbag deployment, such as a rear-end collision, Adler said.
The software glitch does not affect the crash notification system in more-severe accidents that set off the airbags, he said, nor does it prevent the airbags from deploying.
The operation of the OnStar emergency button is not affected and should connect the driver to an emergency adviser as it does normally.
Some vehicles already are cleared for sale, after GM fixed them through a software upgrade flashed remotely through the OnStar system. But because that method hasn't worked on all of the affected vehicles, GM is having dealers fix the remainder through a manual upgrade on their lots.
On Wednesday, GM notified dealers in a memo to "stop the delivery" of the vehicles until they were fixed. The memo said the fix "will be completed by late September."
GM engineers caught the problem during crash testing, Adler said. GM does not know of any customers that have been affected.
Owners of the affected vehicles were notified of the problem in late August. Some of those models already have been fixed remotely, too, Adler said, though he could not say how many.
The stop-delivery order comes at a bad time for Cadillac dealers who have been eager to sell the new Cadillac ATS, which was advertised heavily during last month's Olympics coverage. The first shipments of the ATS arrived at dealerships this week. The XTS, also an all-new nameplate, was launched in June.
Several of the other affected models are among GM's top sellers, including the Cruze, Chevy's second-best selling car behind the Malibu, and the Equinox, GM's top-selling crossover.
Through August, sales of the Equinox totaled 151,027 and Cruze deliveries totaled 154,813.
You can reach Mike Colias at mcolias@crain.com.
