The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.
The risk
A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver's ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners were mailed an interim notification on January 27, 2021, and April 15, 2021. A third notification was mailed on August 19, 201. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N202308930.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Buick LaCrosse | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Buick Regal | 2012, 2013 |
| Chevrolet Malibu | 2013 |
Components: SUSPENSION:REAR
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buick LaCrosse | 2010 | 189 | 2 |
| Buick LaCrosse | 2011 | 169 | 4 |
| Buick LaCrosse | 2012 | 206 | 5 |
| Buick LaCrosse | 2013 | 129 | 5 |
| Buick Regal | 2012 | 92 | 7 |
| Buick Regal | 2013 | 91 | 6 |
| Chevrolet Malibu | 2013 | 837 | 10 |
Other suspension recalls in 2020
27 of the 782 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2020 concerned the suspension; General Motors, LLC filed 186 campaigns in all.
| 20V758000 8 Dec 2020 | McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing, Inc. |
| 20V709000 17 Nov 2020 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 20V708000 17 Nov 2020 | Altec Industries Inc. |
| 20V695000 10 Nov 2020 | Winnebago Towable |
| 20V689000 6 Nov 2020 | Autocar, LLC |
| 20V678000 4 Nov 2020 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 20V665000 29 Oct 2020 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 20V657000 27 Oct 2020 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2020