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In an effort to mitigate vehicle supply shortages caused by the ongoing global microchip shortage, GM is manufacturing certain full-size pickup trucks and SUVs without a fuel-saving automatic stop-start feature.
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The automaker told Cars.com that the deletion of this feature will apply to the following vehicles manufactured on or after June 7, powered by either a 5.3-liter or 6.2-liter V-8 engine paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission:
According to a GM spokesperson, the feature cannot be added post-production.
“By taking this measure, it will enable us to continue production of our high-demand full-size SUV and pickups as the industry continues to rebound and strengthen,” GM said in a statement. “Most of the affected vehicles will experience a minor reduction in fuel economy and customers will receive a $50 credit on the MSRP for affected vehicles.”
We reached out to the EPA to see if updated fuel economy estimates are available yet for any of the affected vehicles but have not received an answer as of this writing. In these configurations, none of the affected vehicles offered stellar fuel economy to begin with, so a small reduction in city fuel economy (where auto stop-start is a factor) could have a more outsized impact to fuel economy.
At the same time, buyers interested in these vehicles may not be too concerned about fuel economy and shrug off a decrease. Some consumers also find such idle-stop systems annoying and deactivate them, negating any potential fuel economy benefit.
As of now, the change has not impacted diesel versions of the above vehicles, nor do they affect Chevrolet Silverado 1500 or GMC Sierra 1500 models that use other drivetrains.
How long this change lasts is also unclear as of now.
“Our supply chain organization continues to make strides working with our supply base to mitigate the near-term impacts of the semiconductor situation,” the automaker said. “GM continues to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products, including our highly profitable full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers. However, the semiconductor situation continues to remain fluid globally.”
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