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GM begins notifying owners today as battery fire risk recall hits Silverado EV, Sierra EV, Escalade IQ and Escalade IQL. General Motors began mailing recall notification letters to affected owners today, September 14, as a federal safety action over a high-voltage battery fire risk takes effect across four of the company's largest electric vehicle nameplates. NHTSA campaign 26V494000 covers 2026 model year Cadillac Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV vehicles. What the defect is. According to GM, an internal battery module component may not have been properly secured during assembly, creating the potential for battery damage and an increased risk of fire. If the component shifts inside the battery pack, it could damage internal battery components and increase the risk of a fire while the vehicle is parked or being driven. Because the issue occurs within the sealed battery assembly, owners are unlikely to detect the defect before damage develops. The recall summary published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on behalf of General Motors does not describe the specific internal component involved. GM's internal recall number for the campaign is N262562600. A narrow but precisely traced production window. The battery recall covers just ten vehicles in the United States. Five Escalade IQ and IQL SUVs are among the ten vehicles receiving a new high-voltage battery under the recall. All were built in a two-week window between May 4 and May 18, 2026. The battery module component in question, a sense line assembly, is put together at GM's Factory Zero plant in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. A press machine used in that operation was misadjusted during scheduled downtime. GM caught the issue on May 17, 2026, when two battery modules with sense line fingers not fully secured turned up at the company's Ramos assembly plant in Mexico. GM then used photographic manufacturing records to review the entire suspect population and whittled it down to 14 vehicles worldwide, ten of them in the U.S. No field incidents have been reported. While the recall population is limited to a handful of vehicles, the concern is serious enough to prompt full battery replacements rather than attempting a module replacement or a repair inside the pack itself. The recall involves the high-voltage battery assembly, and dealers will replace the high-voltage battery, free of charge. That approach mirrors GM's handling of a prior electric vehicle battery safety action, where a manufacturing flaw also required a hardware remedy rather than a software patch. A second recall lands on the same trucks. General Motors filed two separate safety recalls with NHTSA on July 30, 2026, and both land squarely on GM's electric trucks. One covers potentially cracked steel wheels on the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV and 2026 GMC Sierra EV, and the other covers a high-voltage battery defect with a fire risk that touches the Silverado EV, Sierra EV, and the Cadillac Escalade IQ and IQL. The steel wheel recall, NHTSA campaign 26V496000, focuses on hairline cracks that can form at the disc vent holes. That campaign covers a significantly larger population: 952 trucks, comprising 513 Chevrolet Silverado EV and 439 GMC Sierra EV units from the 2026 model year. Under that campaign, dealers will inspect the spare and all four road wheels and replace them if necessary. Neither recall carries a do-not-drive or park-outside advisory. Both sets of VINs became searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 30, 2026. Remedy and owner contacts. Dealers will replace the high-voltage battery free of charge under the battery fire recall. All four affected nameplates are particularly expensive by default, with Chevrolet charging $55,895 before destination and other taxes for the entry-level Silverado EV configuration. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. Owners of larger electric commercial vehicles facing similar battery concerns can also consult guidance on EV operating costs while their vehicles are being serviced. Anyone uncertain whether their vehicle is involved can run their 17-digit VIN at NHTSA.gov or through GM's owner apps. GM has zero reported incidents across both campaigns. GM has not disclosed whether any of the ten affected U.S. vehicles have already been brought in for service ahead of the formal notification. Hugo Rojas is the editor of GCN. With a Master of Science in Engineering, he specializes in technology, data, and science, and brings a human-centered perspective informed by psychology.

Class action claims GM hid Sierra, Silverado transmission defect. By top class actions | september 16, 2026. GM class action lawsuit overview: * Who: Two California consumers filed a class action lawsuit against General Motors LLC. * Why: The plaintiffs claim GM's Sierra, Silverado, Canyon and Colorado pickups are equipped with a defective Hydra-Matic 8L90 or 8L45 transmission. * Where: The GM class action lawsuit was removed to Michigan federal court. A new class action lawsuit alleges General Motors sold thousands of Sierra and Silverado pickup trucks equipped with a defective eight-speed transmission, then concealed the problem from consumers for years. Plaintiffs Matthew Barba and Renzo Calvo-Saez filed the GM class action lawsuit on behalf of California consumers who purchased 2019 model year GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado trucks equipped with GM's Hydra-Matic 8L90 or 8L45 transmission manufactured after March 1, 2019. According to the lawsuit, these transmissions suffer from a common design flaw that causes harsh shifting, jerking and hesitation in lower gears. Barba and Calvo-Saez claim GM knew about the transmission problems as early as 2013 but continued selling the class vehicles without disclosing the defect. The lawsuit points to GM's "Gen 2" transmission redesign, approved in early 2018 and introduced starting with the 2023 model year, as proof GM recognized the shift problems could not be fixed with minor updates to the original design. The class action lawsuit seeks to represent California consumers who purchased a 2019 Sierra, Silverado, Canyon or Colorado equipped with the 8L90 or 8L45 transmission built after March 1, 2019. Service records admit Silverado transmission fix does not work, lawsuit claims. Both plaintiffs say they bought new Silverado trucks and experienced the alleged shift defect firsthand. Barba claims he brought his 2019 Silverado to a California dealership more than once for hard shifting and harsh downshifting, only to be told the behavior was normal. Calvo-Saez brought his Silverado in three times over about a year, reporting hard shifting and jerking, especially when decelerating - a problem he says is serious enough that his wife now refuses to drive the vehicle. According to the class action lawsuit, a December 2023 GM technical service bulletin addressing harsh first-of-the-day shifts states that "replacing transmission components or complete assemblies will not improve the condition." The plaintiffs argue this acknowledgment shows GM already knew the dealer fix would not work. The class action lawsuit accuses GM of violating California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law by concealing the defect. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and are asking the court to certify the class, bar GM from continuing the alleged practices and award attorneys' fees and costs. Meanwhile, GM is facing a separate lawsuit claiming it sold certain Chevrolet and GMC trucks, including the Chevy Silverado, with a rear sliding window defect. What do you think of the allegations made in this GM class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments. The plaintiffs are represented by Cody R. Padgett, Shahin Rezvani and Kathy Pham of Capstone Law APC. The GM class action lawsuit is Barba, et al. v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 4:26-cv-13030, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Don't miss out! Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements: "*" indicates required fields

LG says new battery is cheaper than leading cells, packs more range, and could power 400-mile EVs. James Nanzo Tue, September 15, 2026 at 7:10 PM PDT LG Energy Solution has said a new battery chemistry could help bring longer-range electric trucks and SUVs to market without the price premium drivers have grown used to seeing. Here's what to know. According to a YouTube video from The Electric Viking (@electricviking), LG Energy Solution's new lithium-manganese-rich, or LMR, battery chemistry is being presented as a way to deliver about one-third more energy density than leading lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, cells while staying around a similar cost. The chemistry was developed by LG Energy Solution together with General Motors, with the intent to produce LMR cells for full-size trucks and SUVs in 2028. GM is aiming for more than 400 miles of range, a notable target in a class where heavier vehicles usually need larger, costlier battery packs. Part of the appeal is the materials mix. LMR uses more manganese, which is both more abundant and less expensive than nickel and cobalt, potentially helping automakers control battery costs while increasing the number of miles a pack can deliver. China has led low-cost EV battery manufacturing for years. If LG Energy Solution and GM are able to bring LMR to mass production, the chemistry could give automakers another way to compete on both affordability and performance. More background. LFP batteries are generally less expensive. The tradeoff, however, is lower energy density, which can translate to less range for the same pack size or more weight to reach a target range. That tradeoff becomes even more important in larger vehicles. A battery that delivers more energy without a major cost increase could mean fewer charging stops and more practical EV options for drivers who need bigger vehicles. Through some tweaks, The Electric Viking noted that the group, including scientists from Seoul National University, has achieved a viable LMR battery option. What's being done? The companies have set 2028 as the point when they hope to move LMR from development into industrial production. Promising battery chemistries often generate excitement years before they are produced at scale. Early efforts appear to be focused on full-size EVs, where better energy density could make a particularly visible difference. If LMR works as claimed, automakers might be able to get more range out of the same battery pack. If LG Energy Solution and GM meet their target, drivers could get a rare combination in bigger EVs of more range without the usual price penalty. "If these results hold up in mass production, the era of cheap batteries in the United States that still deliver 600+ kilometers [~373+ miles] of range is probably about 24 months away...maybe a little bit less," The Electric Viking concluded. LG's work on LMR batteries is part of a much bigger push to build EV packs that last longer, store more energy, and use materials that are cheaper or easier to source. - In China, scientists cracked the code for lithium-metal batteries with longer cycle life. - In Vienna, engineers built regenerative oxygen-ion batteries that avoid rare earth metals in energy storage. Battery progress now depends on a lot more than simply making packs bigger. The real race is in chemistry, manufacturing, and proving those performance gains can hold up in mass production. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.