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GM recalls 4M vehicles for air bag defect linked to 1 death

General Motors Co said on Friday that it will recall almost 4.3 million vehicles worldwide for a software defect that can, in rare instances, prevent air bags from deploying during a crash, an issue that has been linked to one death and three injuries.

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The company is recalling 4.28 million vehicles worldwide, with 3.6 million being in the U.S. GM earlier this year recalled 2.5 million vehicles for Takata inflators.

Driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module software to start a diagnostic test, which would prevent deployment of air bags during a crash, causing injury. It said the seat belts may also not function. The problem has been linked to one death and three injuries. GM notified Delphi Corp., the supplier that made the module.

The recall comes less than a week after the company settled the final two of the six bellwether cases involving GM’s faulty ignition switch. Once that was complete, according to filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company elected to order a recall. GM says dealers already have access to the software update so they should be able to fix the vehicles quickly. GM said 3,640,162 vehicles are affected.

The same SDM software can be found in the 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500 HD, Tahoe and Suburban; the 2015-2017 GMC Sierra 2500/3500 HD, Yukon and Yukon XL; the 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV; the 2014-2017 Chevy Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax and Caprice PPV; the 2014-2017 GMC Sierra 1500; the 2014-2017 Buick Encore; the 2014-2016 Buick LaCrosse; and the 2014-2016 Chevy Spark EV and SS.

The company said its dealers will update vehicle software to prevent future air bag and pretensioner nondeployments.

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Getty Images The General Motors logo on the world headquarters building in Detroit Michigan