General Motors has told dealers not to replace any parts on four of its largest electric models that develop a squeaking or creaking noise from the rear suspension, saying its engineers are still working on a fix, according to a service bulletin the company filed with U.S. safety regulators.
The preliminary bulletin, numbered PIT6558 and dated October 2026, covers the 2024 to 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV pickups, the 2025 and 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQ and the 2026 Escalade IQL.
It applies to every vehicle of those model years in North America, with the range of vehicle identification numbers listed as “All” for each model.
The bulletin is not a recall. It makes no mention of a safety risk and tells owners to keep driving.
What the Bulletin Says
GM’s bulletin says customers may report a squeak or creak from the rear of the vehicle when driving over bumps or when turning, and it names the rear upper control arm bushings as the cause.
A control arm connects the wheel assembly to the vehicle’s structure. The bushings are the sleeves at its pivot points that absorb vibration.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s summary of the filing is more specific than the bulletin itself, placing the noise at the “rear upper front control arm bushing.”
The document is marked as version 1 and was created on October 15. NHTSA’s database dates the communication October 19.
No Repair for Now
GM says the noise can be difficult to pinpoint. It recommends that technicians use chassis ears, a set of microphones clipped to suspension parts, or a PicoScope, an oscilloscope-based diagnostic tool, on or near the upper control arm bushing.
The bulletin refers technicians to a video with a sample of the noise.
If the bushings are confirmed as the source, the upper control arm will need to be replaced, the bulletin says. The next line tells dealers to wait.
“Do not replace any parts at this time,” it reads, adding that engineering is working on an update.
In the meantime, the bulletin asks owners to “please continue to drive your vehicle.” GM says the notice will be updated or replaced with a full technical service bulletin once a correction is available.
The one-page document gives no timeline for the fix, lists no part numbers or labor times, and does not address warranty coverage.
Not a Recall
Preliminary information bulletins are notices GM sends to dealer technicians about a condition that is still under review. Carmakers must give NHTSA copies of such communications, and the agency publishes them.
Unlike a recall, a service bulletin does not require the company to notify owners.
GM’s standard footer on the document says its bulletins are written for professional technicians. It cautions readers not to assume that a bulletin applies to their vehicle, or that their vehicle will have the condition described.
NHTSA’s database shows no open investigation into any of the nine model-year versions of the four vehicles.
Owners have filed 78 complaints with the agency across those versions on all subjects. Two of them list the suspension, and both concern the 2026 Sierra EV.
One, filed in September 2025, describes a clunk from the right rear suspension that a dealer could not trace over two days. The other reports a bumping sound from the front passenger side.
None of the 78 complaints mentions a squeak, a creak or a control arm, and nothing in the database links them to the bulletin.
Escalade IQ owners who search NHTSA’s site by model will not find the bulletin there: the agency filed it under “Escalade” for the 2025 and 2026 model years, and it does not appear on the Escalade IQ pages.
Earlier Rear Suspension Notices
The bulletin is at least the third dealer communication in a little over two years to involve the rear control arms of these vehicles.
In August 2024, GM issued a service update for certain 2024 Silverado EVs after an incorrect torque specification for the rear upper control arm was published in its service information. Dealers were told to loosen the bolts and tighten them again to the corrected figure.
In September 2025, a second service update covered certain 2025 Silverado EV, Sierra EV and Escalade IQ vehicles whose rear lower control arm bolts may not have been fully torqued. Dealers were told to perform a rear wheel alignment and retorque all four bolts to 369 lb-ft.
In a footnote, GM recommended that dealers buy the longest torque wrench they could find because of the force that bolt requires.
Neither action required new parts. Neither document mentions a noise, and the new bulletin does not refer to either of them.
A Front Clunk Bulletin Without an Update
A separate noise bulletin on the two pickups has gone more than eight months without an update.
In March, GM issued preliminary bulletin PIT6492 on a clunk from the front of 2024 to 2026 Silverado EVs and 2026 Sierra EVs fitted with the FE2 suspension when they are driven over rough or bumpy roads.
“The cause is under investigation,” that bulletin says.
It tells technicians that, if an inspection of the steering, suspension, driveline and related components finds no obvious issues, they should advise customers that they may continue driving.
Recalls on the Same Models
The four vehicles have also been subject to safety recalls on other components. NHTSA lists ten recall campaigns across the nine versions, and none of them involves the suspension.
In July, GM recalled 952 Silverado EV and Sierra EV pickups from the 2026 model year because their steel wheels could crack at the disc vent holes, which NHTSA said could lead to a loss of control.
A second recall the same month covered 11 vehicles, including the 2026 Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, Sierra EV and Silverado EV, over a component inside the high-voltage battery that may not have been properly secured.
In September 2025, GM recalled 1,191 Silverado EV and Sierra EV pickups from the 2026 model year because a warning light for an electronic stability control malfunction might not come back on after the vehicle was restarted.
Last month, a GM customer satisfaction program called for replacing the high-voltage battery a second time in 66 electric vehicles across 10 models, including the Escalade IQ. NHTSA’s database also lists that program under the Silverado EV and Sierra EV.
The Models Affected
GM builds the Silverado EV, Sierra EV and Escalade IQ at its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, alongside the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV. The Hummer EV is not listed in the bulletin.
The Silverado EV and Sierra EV were introduced as 2024 models and the Escalade IQ as a 2025 model, so the bulletin reaches back to the first vehicles built in each line.
In the third quarter, GM sold 1,655 Silverado EVs in the U.S., down 58.0% from a year earlier, and 1,661 Sierra EVs, down 50.8%. The Escalade IQ and IQL together sold 1,604 units, down 29.2%.
The four models accounted for 4,920 vehicles, or about 19% of GM’s 25,473 U.S. electric vehicle sales in the quarter, its weakest of the year.
Through September, GM delivered 5,327 Silverado EVs in the U.S., down 43.2%, and 4,705 Sierra EVs, down 23.5%. Escalade IQ and IQL deliveries fell 20.3% to 4,807.
GM attributed the decline in its total U.S. sales in the third quarter to “the much smaller EV market and discontinued vehicles.”
In April, GM denied a Crain’s Detroit Business report that it had indefinitely suspended its next-generation electric truck program.
“GM has not canceled any electric trucks,” a company spokesperson said at the time, adding that production of the current electric trucks was not affected.
