The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse, 2012-2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu 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 an improper amount of 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 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
Dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2022. 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 N212346640. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recalls 20V-764 and 21V-633.
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 2021
48 of the 988 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2021 concerned the suspension; General Motors, LLC filed 186 campaigns in all.
| 21V990000 17 Dec 2021 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| 21V935000 1 Dec 2021 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 21V912000 21 Nov 2021 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 21V911000 19 Nov 2021 | Porsche Cars North America, Inc. |
| 21V886000 16 Nov 2021 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 21V870000 10 Nov 2021 | Ford Motor Company |
| 21V835000 25 Oct 2021 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 21V813000 15 Oct 2021 | Trail King Industries, Inc. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2021