GM recalled 29,347 Cadillac OPTIQs over windows that ignore obstructions

General Motors recalled 29,347 Cadillac OPTIQ electric SUVs in the United States — 2025, 2026 and 2027 model years — over a software issue that can stop the front windows from detecting an obstruction when closed remotely. GM filed the recall campaign on 24 September 2026.

The defect is narrow: only the key fob's express-up function is affected. When the front windows are closed remotely, they may fail to stop and reverse on an obstruction encountered in the final 13mm of travel — meaning the vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 118, 'Power-Operated Window Systems', which requires auto-closing windows to reverse before exerting a squeezing force of 100 newtons or more on a test rod.

GM filed the recall as a failure to comply with FMVSS No. 118 rather than as a safety defect, and said it was not aware of any field complaints linked to the condition.

The fault surfaced internally: on 26 June 2026, a dealer noticed the power windows would not stop properly for an object during key-fob express-up; a quality manager analysed the report and escalated it into the recall process.

29,347 OPTIQ SUVs across the 2025–2027 model years recalled for a software remedy.

The failure mode was specific enough to slip through validation — a condition appearing only in the last 13mm of remote express-up travel.

It is a regulatory-compliance recall, not a reported-injury defect, but FMVSS 118 exists precisely because power windows can trap children and pets.

The fix is a software update across three model years of the same EV platform, so the recall is cheap to remedy and expensive to have needed.

The detection path ran through a single dealer observation and an escalated quality report rather than customer complaints — internal verification caught what drivers had not.

Compliance is measured at the worst-case millimetre: a window that reverses everywhere except the final 13mm of remote travel fails FMVSS 118 as completely as one that never reverses.

Owners of the 29,347 recalled OPTIQs are to receive the software remedy; GM's filing states no field complaints or injuries were known at the time. The recall was classified as a noncompliance with FMVSS No. 118 rather than a safety defect campaign.