Buick Electrical System: Ignition

Buick is recalling about 3,141,731 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Campaign
14V355000
Manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Reported
23 June 2014
Vehicles
3,141,731
Built between
May 1999 – Jun 2014
Models
6
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
23 September 2014
Repaired
62%
Unrepaired
911,464

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between May 1999 and June 2014. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2005-2009 Buick LacrosseBuilt May 2004 to January 2009
  • 2006-2011 Buick LucerneBuilt August 2005 to June 2011
  • 2000-2005 Cadillac DevilleBuilt May 1999 to June 2005
  • 2006-2011 Cadillac DTSBuilt May 2005 to May 2011
  • 2006-2014 Chevrolet ImpalaBuilt February 2005 to June 2014
  • 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte CarloBuilt June 2005 to June 2007

Repair progress

911,464 of 3,141,731 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q2 2016.

62% repaired — 1,943,372 of 3,141,731 reported

Owners not reachable
15,667
Scrapped or exported
271,228

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.

What could happen

If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtMay 1999 to June 2014
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA23 June 2014
  3. Owners notified23 September 2014
  4. Latest repair reportQ2 2016 — 62% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 23 June 2014.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), and 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
14299
Recalling manufacturer
General Motors LLC
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand