Cadillac Lyriqs Recalled Over Pedestrian Warning Sound

A small number of Cadillac Lyriq sport utility vehicles are being recalled over an important safety feature that is required for electric cars.

The SUVs may not emit required pedestrian warning sounds when decelerating, General Motors, which produces the Cadillac brand, recently told federal regulators.

“A pedestrian may not hear an approaching vehicle equipped with this software, increasing risk of a crash with a pedestrian,” General Motors said in a defect notice filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

U.S. regulations require electric and hybrid cars to emit an alert sound for pedestrians when vehicles are traveling under about 19 miles per hour. The so-called “quiet car” rule was enacted because covered vehicles do not emit exhaust noise and can be harder to hear at low speeds. 

The recall covers certain 2022-2023 Lyriq SUVs produced over a year stretch starting in April 2022. The company blamed a supplier for the snafu.

“GM’s supplier inadvertently provided incorrect calibration values to GM’s software calibration management system,” it said in the defect notice. “These incorrect calibration values were subsequently included in a software update package deployed between August 23, 2023, and September 8, 2023.”

GM plans to notify owners of recalled cars by the end of November, the automaker told NHTSA. The company will try to fix the problem by updating the vehicles’ Body Control Modules.

“The BCM reflash will contain software with the correct calibration values,” GM said.

Safety Concerns for GM Owners

These kinds of recalls are all too common for GM and other major auto manufacturers around the globe.

Last year, for example, GM recalled about 200 Cadillac LYriq SUVs. It said at the time that a software glitch may cause dashboard displays to go dark in the vehicles, creating a safety hazard.

More recently, GM this year called back some 740,000 cars across its brands over another safety problem. The company said daytime running lights may fail to deactivate when the vehicles’ headlights are on. 

Know Your California Lemon Law Rights

Major recalls like these are often announced long after cars have left factory floors and dealership lots and are sold to unsuspecting buyers. Even used car dealers often sell vehicles with open recalls that have yet to be addressed.

There is some good news for GM and other drivers in California, however. The state’s lemon law gives you some valuable rights and protections.

The California lemon law requires automakers to perform a variety of repairs on vehicles while they are under warranty. It also requires the companies to buy back or replace cars that they cannot or simply refuse to fix. That includes covering the car’s purchase price, as well as financing fees, rental car costs and other related expenses.

Our Lemon Lawyers Can Help You

At Bickel Sannipoli, our California lemon law attorneys have assisted hundreds of clients across the state stuck with defective or malfunctioning vehicles. 

We are conveniently located in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Call us at (888) 800-1983 or contact us online to speak with a California lemon law attorney today.