General Motors is recalling 54,686 cars due to a defective park lock cable. The affected vehicles were manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, including the 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL.
"The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly," said NHTSA in its summary of the problem.
"As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the off position. The vehicle may also shift out of Park without application of the brake pedal while the key is off. Either of these scenarios may cause the vehicle to roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible vehicle crash and/or injury."
The recall is expected to begin on January 17 and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. Owners can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, GMC at 1-866-996-9463 or NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236.
