General Motors is recalling 12,715 model-year 2025 and 2026 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans because the steering gear assembly may have a nut that was not properly tightened. According to NHTSA’s record, a nut that separates from the assembly while the van is moving can cause a loss of steering control and raise the risk of a crash. GM’s report reached the agency on Oct. 29.
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The campaign is a follow-up. A June recall covered the same two vans and the same part, and the new filing ties the two together.
What recall 26V718 covers and how owners are told
NHTSA’s campaign data for 26V718000 lists four records: the 2025 and 2026 GMC Savana, and the 2025 and 2026 Chevrolet Express. Each carries a potential population of 12,715 and the component label “steering.” Dealers will inspect the serial number and replace the steering gear assembly if necessary, free of charge. Owner letters are expected to be mailed Dec. 14, 2026, and GM’s number for the campaign is N262579350.
The agency’s recall lookup page is where owners can enter a VIN; VINs for this campaign became searchable on Oct. 29. Questions go to Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267. The park-it and park-outside flags in the record are both false, so the filing carries no do-not-drive instruction for these vans.
The June recall 26V399 and the Nexteer sensor
The earlier campaign, NHTSA 26V399, was far larger. Its recall report counted 26,541 vans: 14,615 from the 2025 Express, 6,389 from the 2026 Express, 4,786 from the 2025 Savana and 751 from the 2026 Savana. The steering gear assemblies came from supplier Nexteer Automotive Group, and GM said a malfunctioning sensor at the supplier let assemblies with only hand-tightened nuts pass inspection. The report names part numbers 86285183, 85819773 and 85056974, and it estimated that about 1 percent of the vans carried the defect.
GM’s timeline moved quickly once a dealer raised the alarm. A GM quality manager filed a Speak Up For Safety report on May 28 after a dealer found a loose nut on a 2025 Express, the company opened a product investigation on June 2, and its safety decision authority chose to recall on June 18. The report went to NHTSA on June 23. GM also found nine related field reports dated June through November 2025, none involving a crash or injury.
The supplier contained the condition on May 29, and GM concluded that vans built after June 1, 2026 have correctly torqued nuts. GM Authority’s account of that recall adds the symptoms an owner might notice before a failure: reduced steering precision and a steering wheel that sits off-center while the van drives straight. Owner letters for the June campaign were set to begin on Aug. 10.
Coverage of the June recall stressed how contained the problem looked at the time. WGN-TV, citing NewsNation and NHTSA, reported on July 1 that more than 26,000 vans were involved, that no accidents or injuries had been reported, and that owners were expected to hear from GM by Aug. 10. Nothing in that coverage anticipated a second campaign, and the new filing arrived less than five months after the first report date.
Cost is not part of the picture for owners. The June report states that reimbursement is not offered because the vans are under warranty, and the 26V718 remedy again says replacement is free of charge. What remains is time off the road. A dealer visit for a serial-number check takes far less than an assembly replacement, and the filing says inspect first and replace if necessary, so the record does not say how many vans will need new parts.
Re-inspection of vans from the first campaign
The wording in the new filing is the most revealing part. The remedy text states that vehicles not properly inspected under recall 26V399 must be re-inspected under 26V718. In other words, some of the vans that went through the June fix are being called back for another look, which is a different situation from a brand-new defect appearing on a different part.
The public record stops short of saying why those inspections fell short, what the dealer-side lapse was, or whether the 12,715 vans in the new campaign are a subset of the 26,541 from June. The new population is about 48 percent of the earlier one, but the filings do not state any overlap, and the arithmetic alone cannot settle it.
For a fleet manager with a Savana or Express built in 2025 or 2026, the practical step is the same under either campaign number: look the VIN up, ask the dealer which recall number the van was serviced under, and confirm that the serial number was checked. Whether GM will publish a supplemental chronology for 26V718 is the open question, since that document would show how the inspection gap was found.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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