— A GM toe link recall announced in June is allegedly good enough for safety regulators who closed an investigation into rear toe link failures in 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX SUVs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened the toe link investigation in November 2020 after receiving nine complaints about GM toe links that separated while driving.
Four of those complaints indicated the vehicles had been repaired during a 2014 GM toe link recall affecting 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX and 2011-2012 Saab 9-4X vehicles. The other five owners complained of toe link problems but their vehicles weren't included in the 2014 GM toe link recall.
According to NHTSA, there have been at least 84 complaints, 16 crashes, 10 injuries and two fatalities allegedly caused by GM rear toe link failures.
GM owners complained their vehicles experienced "uncontrolled swaying" while driving and activation of the electronic stability control systems.
The remedy repair for the toe link recall was to inspect the rear toe link adjusters and replace them if necessary. Dealers were also instructed to tighten both jam nuts to the correct torque specification.
However, NHTSA learned the 2014 GM toe link recall repairs could be reversed when the vehicle gets a rear-end alignment and the jam nuts are not tightened to specification. Safety investigators also confirmed a high toe link failure rate in GM vehicles that were repaired, and vehicles that were not repaired in the 2014 toe link recall.
In June, General Motors issued another toe link recall for all 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX and 2010-2011 Saab 9-4X vehicles. Except this time, GM dealers were told to replace the adjustable toe links with non-adjustable toe links.
Federal safety regulators are closing their investigation based on the June GM toe link recall, but "NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances."
