General Motors told federal safety regulators on Oct. 29 that software in the brake system control module of 67,380 electric vehicles may cause a loss of braking under certain driving conditions. The recall spans four nameplates: the Cadillac Lyriq, Cadillac Celestiq, Cadillac Vistiq and Chevrolet Blazer EV. Owner letters are scheduled to go out on Dec. 14.
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Model years run from 2023 for the Lyriq through 2027 for the Lyriq, Vistiq and Blazer EV. The Celestiq population is limited to 2025 and 2026, and the Vistiq to 2026 and 2027.
Brake module software and the loss-of-braking risk
The filing is NHTSA campaign 26V717000, classified under service brakes, specifically the hydraulic antilock, traction control and electronic limited-slip control unit or module. GM’s own summary says the brake system control module “contains a software defect that may cause a loss of braking during certain driving conditions.” The stated consequence is short and blunt: a loss of braking ability increases the risk of a crash. The summary and consequence fields do not spell out what those driving conditions are, and they do not list crashes or injuries tied to the defect.
NHTSA’s data feed splits the campaign into 13 records, one for each model and model-year pairing, and every one of them carries the same 67,380 figure. A second view of the same campaign shows the shared summary, consequence and remedy text repeated across all 13 rows, which confirms 67,380 is the campaign-wide total rather than a per-model count. Adding the rows together would overstate the recall roughly thirteenfold.
The scale of the new campaign is easiest to see against the old one. At 67,380 vehicles it is more than three times the 21,469 covered in 2024, and it adds three nameplates that were not part of the earlier filing. The Lyriq alone appears in five model-year records, against two each for the Celestiq and Vistiq and four for the Blazer EV, and the Lyriq is the same Cadillac crossover that was recalled once before.
An earlier Lyriq ABS recall from 2024
Lyriq owners have been here before. In August 2024 GM filed recall 24V-589 covering up to 21,469 all-wheel-drive 2023 and 2024 Lyriq SUVs built between Dec. 14, 2022 and Aug. 5, 2024. That chronology filed with NHTSA traced the problem to software in the electronic brake control module: on dry pavement below 25 mph, after a particular sequence of wheel movements, the antilock system could keep releasing brake pressure.
The 2024 report described a slow build. GM logged a field complaint on Oct. 14, 2023, then reports of two minor accidents on Feb. 15 and March 12, 2024, opened a product investigation on May 31 and made its recall decision on Aug. 1. Wards Auto’s coverage of that campaign noted that GM was not aware of any injuries or fatalities.
The new campaign differs in scale and in the component named. The 2024 recall touched one model with one drivetrain layout, while 26V717000 reaches the Lyriq in every model year, two other Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Blazer EV. The 2026 filing names the brake system control module rather than the electronic brake control module, and the public record available so far does not say whether the two software faults are related.
Free update, owner letters and the over-the-air question
Because the defect sits in software, a recall of this kind can reach owners without a trip to a service bay, which is the practical difference from a hardware failure such as a loose fastener or a cracked bracket. The filing gives owners two paths to the same corrected code. Anyone who drives one of the 2023 through 2027 vehicles named above can enter a VIN into NHTSA’s lookup to confirm whether the car is in the group.
GM’s remedy is a free update of the brake module software, delivered either over the air or at a dealer. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on Dec. 14, 2026, which is 46 days after the Oct. 29 report date. NHTSA’s recall guidance says manufacturers will notify registered owners by first-class mail within 60 days of notifying the agency of a recall decision, so the Dec. 14 target sits inside that window.
Owners can reach Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GM’s own number for the campaign is N262570900. VINs became searchable on NHTSA’s site on Oct. 29, which means an owner does not have to wait for the letter to find out whether a specific vehicle is included.
One detail in the record is unresolved. The remedy text describes an over-the-air option, yet the over-the-air flag in the NHTSA data reads false. GM has not said how many of the 67,380 vehicles will receive the update wirelessly and how many will need a dealer visit, and the answer will determine how quickly the fix reaches the road before and after the December letters.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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