GM bulletin PIP5981C
What it saysThis Preliminary information communicates ordering process for the front and rear drive units are on restriction for all listed EV vehicles for engineering review. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
GM filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Dec 16, 2024, received Dec 20, 2024, about the power train. It names 19 model years across Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac (2022–2025). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
One page for every brand it was filed under. Each brand’s bulletins: Chevrolet · GMC · Cadillac.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThis Preliminary information communicates ordering process for the front and rear drive units are on restriction for all listed EV vehicles for engineering review.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIP5981C | Service bulletin | Dec 16, 2024 | 11012020 | PDF, 34 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themChevrolet 8 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2025 Chevrolet Brightdrop 400; 2025 Chevrolet Brightdrop 600.
GMC 6 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup.
Cadillac 5 model years
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 16 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,992 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 266 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado, the 13 owners who gave an odometer reading for Power Train reported it at a median of 10,900 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
On or around , while driving at approximately 40 mph, the automatic emergency braking / auto collision assist system on my 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ (VIN: ) activated without warning and brought the vehicle to a sudden stop. There was no obstacle, pedestrian, or hazard present in the roadway ahead of the vehicle at the time of activation.
2025 Cadillac Optiq · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Aug 8, 2026 · ODI 11755656
While driving northbound on , south of Oklahoma City, at normal highway speed, at night, in the rain (on ), this EV lost all power to the wheels and the regenerative braking ceased to function. It appears that all flow of electrons from the batteries to the drive motors, and from the regenerative brakes to the batteries stopped.
2024 Cadillac Lyriq · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Nov 4, 2024 · ODI 11623497
I was driving and noticed a very strong smell of an electrical fire. The truck popped up a High Voltage Battery warning and several warning lights came on. We stopped, restarted the truck and the lights came on again, the smell returned as soon as we started driving. We drove the truck to Cable Dahmer GMC in Kansas City, MO.
2024 GMC Sierra · Power Train · filed with NHTSA May 11, 2026 · ODI 11737138
In depth: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado transmission and drivetrain problems → · 2024 GMC Sierra transmission and drivetrain problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the power train
Source: same model, same component group133 other manufacturer communications filed against these GM models under the same component group (power train), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Chevrolet list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| N252502891-01 | Service campaign | Aug 20, 2026 | Certain vehicles may have a condition in which the internal differential nut was cross threaded or missing during assembly. Dealers will rev… |
| N252502890-01 | Service campaign | Aug 20, 2026 | Certain vehicles may have a condition in which the internal differential nut was cross threaded or missing during assembly. Dealers will rev… |
| N242471460-01 | Service campaign | Aug 20, 2026 | Certain vehicles may have been built with an Electric Drive Unit mounting bolt that is too long, causing damage to the Drive Unit case. Deal… |
| N252517790 | Service campaign | Oct 14, 2025 | Certain vehicles, equipped with 8L80 or 8L90 Transmissions, may have a condition in which the reaction carrier cracks. Dealers are to replac… |
| N242454441 -03 | Service campaign | Oct 9, 2025 | Certain vehicles listed above, may have a condition where the transmission control valve has worn, resulting in a gradual loss of pressure w… |
| 25-NA-080 | Service bulletin | Sep 4, 2025 | This service bulletin provides a procedure to overhaul the control valve to replace a plate and worn down check ball to correct the customer… |
| N252494003-01 | Service campaign | Jun 26, 2025 | Certain vehicles listed above, may have a condition where the connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components in these vehicles may have… |
| N242483540-01 | Service campaign | May 21, 2025 | Certain vehicles listed above may have a condition in which the transmission may not shift properly. Dealers are to replace the transmission… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is GM PIP5981C a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the PIP5981C repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every GM warranty extension on file lists the ones GM has filed.
Which vehicles does PIP5981C cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 19 model years across 3 brands (Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac): 2025 Cadillac Escalade, 2025 Cadillac Lyriq, 2024 Cadillac Lyriq, 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, 2025 Cadillac Optiq, 2025 Chevrolet Blazer and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.