If you ordered one of General Motors’ new mid-size pickups, your delivery may be a bit late, thanks to an airbag recall.
Automotive News reports dealers received a note last week from GM informing them that the automaker had notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of an “upcoming safety and noncompliance recall” involving the driver’s side airbag connection being incorrectly wired while the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon twins were on the assembly line:
This condition will cause the driver-side airbags to not function as designed and may adversely affect the crash performance of the driver-side airbags.
GM says it will deliver a software update to its dealerships “in the next few days,” allowing service techs to reprogram the affected airbag’s sensing and diagnostic module prior to delivery. That said, most of the affected are either at the Wentzville, Mo. assembly plant, in transit, or unsold on the lot.
Speaking of sales of the twins, the automaker reported 36 Colorados and 11 Canyons heading for the old dirt road to the beer-fueled barnyard disco in September.
Get the impression, that GM really is putting a lot of effort into the launch, so they get it 100% right
Indeed!
It is refreshing to see that GM appears to have learned a lesson or two about recalls.
Better to bite the bullet now, even if it means some delays (that could be short if it is only a software re-flash).
Sounds like something FCA would do, doesn’t it?
“Holey crap on a cracker”
GM has been making 5 Star ANCAP Colorado’s for sometime now (years).
I can’t believe transferring technology from Thailand to the US could be that hard.
@Big Al from Oz,
Difference is the US Version is pretty different from the Global version, so this is not unexpected
@RobertRyan – There’s no real indication the global version is any different, or reason to be, other than US technical bits and cosmetics. In fact, it probably is the global version, shipped in as CKD kits for final assembly in the US. I’d make zero sense to build them here from scratch.
Doe the Thai version even have a passenger airbag? It would surprise me if it did.
@Jello dyne,
Sure has and everything else needed to meet Euro and US regulations. The differences between standards is small for Pickups and Cars , but much greater for heavy trucks
Total redesign, just like all variants of the F150 are exactly the same
@Scoutdude – What parts do you mean? They’re fundamentally the same trucks, except for minor parts that bolt on and plug-n-play. Like the drivetrain. I don’t see a reason to build the twins here from scratch when most its part are readily found overseas. It defeats the purpose of globalization.
“– What parts do you mean? They’re fundamentally the same trucks, except for minor parts that bolt on and plug-n-play. Like the drivetrain. ”
Obviously the manufacturer the UAW seems to be defending does not have a Midsize Pickup in it’s lineup. Wonder if either of the two ever will?
@Denver Mike, the front end sheet metal, the air bags, the interior materials, the springs, the power train.
The front end needs to be different to protect the occupant over the pedestrian. The US spec air bags have very specific inflation rates/forces that are different than euro specs. Interior materials used on US spec vehicles have very specific flame spread rates and the chemicals released by burning them and the amount of smoke they develop are strictly regulated in the US. The payloads listed for the US spec are lower than what I’ve heard the overseas versions are. Finally the power trains have to meet EPA standards and are built in the US. GM spent a lot of money redesigning them to meet US regulations and that meant a lot of new parts. For example I doubt they have stability control on the 3rd world versions and it is required by law on all light duty vehicles made after Jan 1 2012. That stability control requirement was the final nail in the old Ranger’s coffin.
CKD stands for Complete Knock Down kit, which means basically every thing to put the truck together except for fluids, battery and maybe tires and wheels. So while they may import some parts like possibly the frames, beds or cabs, they are not going to import a CKD.
@Robert Ryan – An industry analyst said this:
“I would say the Colorado will be built in Thailand, shipped to the US in CKD form and assembled in the US.”
If that sounds familiar, it’s b/c that was YOU
news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/02/work-on-next-gen-colorado-and-canyon-under-way-for-north-america-sources-say.html
But once you have nothing more to offer, you start up with the UAW/CAW angle. Priceless.
@Scoutdude – You’re talking about most of the truck’s parts coming in from overseas like a jigsaw puzzle. Wouldn’t it be 1000 X simpler and 2000 X cheaper to let the Thai factory assemble them as usual, minus the US specific parts, and load them on a boat as ‘gliders’? Same as Sprinters?
“So while they may import some parts like possibly the frames, beds or cabs, they are not going to import a CKD.”
The differences between the US and global models are significant. I don’t think that a CKD of the global version would even be possible for this; there are too many differences.
As it stands, GM has spent a few hundred million to build these things in Missouri. That would be a lot to spend for just reinstalling drivetrains and a few other bits into otherwise assembled vehicles.
Building the twins from scratch doesn’t seem to be something that’s easily done while piggybacking on the GM 2500/3500 van’s (real) assembly line for 1 of 3 shifts. They’re about as different as you can get. But final assembly for the twins would be doable on an assembly line for vehicles so different, they might as well be Audis.
But all I’m hearing is a few US spec parts that bolt on or simply plug-n-play. But it’d definitely be cumbersome, time consuming and awkward to package up, crate and ship truck frames, beds and cabs. It’d be so much more efficient to bolt them to a rolling chassis and roll them on to a boat. No tons of packing material necessary.
“Roughly 75 percent of the U.S.- and Canada-market 2015 Colorado is different from the otherwise global Chevrolet Colorado/S10 built in Thailand”
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/11/2015-chevrolet-colorado-looks-to-rejuvenate-midsized-truck-segment-with-tech-diesel
____________
Weight was stripped out of the global truck in order to create the US spec model.
It isn’t just a few changes. Please stop banging on about it being a CKD, when it obviously isn’t.
@ Big Al, US air bag specs are different than the rest of the world as we have very specific inflation rate specifications. Getting a good rating in NCAP doesn’t mean a whole lot since they value pedestrian safety over occupant safety.
It does say that it was wired wrong on the assembly line which really makes me wonder how they will “fix it in software”.
@ Denver Mike, they are not assembling CKD kits, they manufacture it here. Way to little of the global truck is used in the US spec truck for anything that they do import to constitute a Complete kit.
It smells like a ECU / MCU reflash. Wired wrong could have meant bad flash. Most of the ROM’s / Software flashes happen in plant, unless it’s a supplier subcomponent.
End of Line guys always run around with their heads cut off during launches. I have had many yard reflash parties. Heaps of tobacco, a laptop or USB and monotonous reflash procedures in the heat of the summer or a damned blizzard and 12 hour work days.
It sounds like Wentzville is having such a party.
Correct ,but he knows that and I guess it is his job to pour water on other companies midsize offerings, as two OEM’ s do not have any
@Scoutdude,
Can you tell me why the US airbags inflation rates are different?
I do know. I want to see if you can tell me. It has nothing to do with them being safer.
As for you previous comments regarding the ‘Thai’ third world Colorado. Maybe you should visit the Holden site, you’d be quite surprise. They have everything from ESC to trailer sway control, I mean possibly more than what the US pickups offer.
The US Colorado isn’t any safer than the ANCAP 5 Star one we have. It’s just different regulations, not better. If US safety regulations were better the US would have a much lower road fatlity rate. It outstrips all other modern nations and some third world ones as well.
Did you ever stop to think that the reason we have a higher fatality rate is because we have more cars on the road than Straya or those third-world countries you love so much because it turns you on for people to get paid peanuts to make inferior goods?
You have to be the most schizophrenic poster on this site. One moment, you’re cheering for the downfall of your country’s own automotive industry, than holding Holden up as some kind of example. Not to mention trying to manage the business of a country that you have no stake in as a citizen or property owner.
As long as my distant uncle Tony doesn’t blow up Penrith or Rockhampton so I can visit my bogan sheila friends, what goes on in Straya is none of my business.
I couldn’t even get through the first sentence before realizing this article needs recalled. “…your delivery may be a bit late, thanks an airbag recall.”
And now, you can!
Some automakers include free floor mats or a free oil change with every purchase. It appears GM includes a free recall or two. It makes you wonder how many they have lying around in stock that they can give so many away.
“You get a recall! YOU get a recall! EVERYONE GETS A RECALL!!!”
The Silverado and Sierra are @ 5 recalls or more after the sale right now. It would be very stupid to roll out this truck in the same fashion. Customers currently are unhappy with the recalls and what the recalls consist of. Being in auto repair business 6 of my customers so far have purchased the new 14 gm truck. all of them are very dissatisfied customers, and the dealer they purchased from is top notch. I have purchased vehicles from same dealer, and cant say anything bad about them. Its the product GM is handing them to sell with too many flaws. This little version needs to impress for them to move forward. Good thing they are on top of the first recall! I am afraid they have more to go though…
I’m waiting for the airbag recall that is the result of the airbag spontaneously firing while the vehicle is on the transporter. Imagine the show you could get just driving down the interstate and overtaking a transporter while it was happening.
This certainly doesn’t bode well for this trucks and I’m not talking about the recall. I’m talking about the fact that in two weeks on sale they have sold less than 50. According to the internet pundits the US market was clamoring for this truck and were willing to over pay for it just so they could have a mid size truck. Either the truck is that bad in person or the truth is that the internet pundits were just following their MO. Claim they want something sooooo bad but then when the time comes they aren’t willing to put their money down and drive one home, along with projecting their desires on the general public.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a combination of typical internet fanboi behavior & GM missing their intended customer base. The first is pretty much a given, and the second brings to mind an interview I saw with the folks who designed the trucks where they kept talking about how the buyers of these trucks want to do everything a big(ger) truck does and how important it was to include luxury/tech features.
The impression I get is that they are perfectly good trucks, but I’m not sure if they appeal to the people who would want them.
@scoutdude, were you were being sarcastic? The trucks were just starting to appear on dealer lots at the end of September. Fewer than 100 had reached dealer lots by October 1. Production is still ramping up. Even October or November sales would mean nothing. Trucks need at least 75 days supply due to so many variations. A 75 day supply would be 24,000 Colorado+Canyons on dealer lots. Currently there are less than 900 in inventory. We won’t know how well or poorly these trucks do until Jan 2015 or later.
At this point there is no way to tell what a 75 day supply is. By my estimation, based on the demand for less than full size trucks for the last few years 24,000 represents a 150-180 day supply. Yes I was being a little sarcastic but if this truck was as highly anticipated as the internet pundits would want every one to believe they would being coming off the transporter and into the awaiting buyers hands. If demand is as high as the pundits would expect you to believe then they would have sold more than 50 on the first day they went on sale.
Ever hopeful, Alluster is assuming that this is going to be a 120k unit per year vehicle. He’s already chided me about this “fact.”
The idea that GM is going to go from zero to twice the market share of Nissan in a blink of an eye sounds like jihadist talk. Yet it does seem that GM itself may believe it; the internal expectations seem to be quite high, which is disturbing.
Well according to things I’ve read elsewhere the initial orders totaling around 40K units is “multiple times” what GM originally expected to be initial demand. So it seems that the dealer may have higher expectations than GM had.
I should add that I think that these twins will outsell the Nissan, partially because I believe that the GMs will steal a fair amount of Nissan’s fleet sales. I think it will steal very few Toyota buyers and you will have people who are replacing their current Colorado/Canyon and have been waiting for the new one.
@Scoutdude – Exactly. Fleet buyers will jump all over the twins. Especially utilities, municipalities and military, that are strongly compelled or forced to buy “domestic” brands.
My sense is that GM would not have given this the green light if the sales expectations were only mid-five figures. They have spent too much money on it to justify low volumes.
I am willing to bet that their internal expectations are north of 100k units per year. But they’re going to downplay it to the press, while their dealer relations staff works hard to get pre-orders. (I have a feeling that they’ll be horsetrading higher end Silverado allocations in exchange for Colorado orders.)