GM recalling 3.5 million vehicles over braking problem

General Motors Co. will recall nearly 3.5 million SUVs and pickup trucks in the U.S., citing a problem that could make braking more difficult.

The problem with the vehicles’ vacuum pumps has been linked to more than 100 accidents and more than a dozen injuries, according to Reuters. 

The recall covers Cadillac Escalades, GMC Sierras, GMC Yukons, Chevrolet Silverados, Chevrolet Suburbans and Chevrolet Tahoes made between 2014 and 2018.

{mosads}The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the vacuum pump issue last November, citing reports of nine related crashes and two injuries, and GM more recently launched its own probe, according to Reuters.

Affected “vehicles may experience brake boost failure, which would require increased brake pedal effort, leading to a hard brake pedal feel, and potentially increased stopping distance,” NHTSA said in a statement, according to the news service.

Dealers will reprogram the affected vehicles’ electronic brake control to improve the systems’ use of the hydraulic brake boost assist when its vacuum assist is depleted, GM said, according to Reuters.

The automaker told NHTSA that a different design for their brake assist systems was used in earlier model years and that the pump design was not present in newer models.