General Motors is recalling about 3.4m full-size pickups and sport-utility vehicles sold in the US due to a problem with vacuum brake assisters which makes it hard to brake and has led to 113 crashes and 13 injuries, media reports said.

The problematic vacuum pumps were installed on 2014-2018 model year vehicles, including some Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon vehicles.

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Reuters said GM last June recalled 310,000 vehicles in Canada for the same issue but the automaker did not immediately explain why the Canadian recall occurred more than two months before it called back the vehicles in the US.

The amount of vacuum the pump produces can lessen over time, according to a GM submission to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which oversees recalls.

The agency began an investigation after receiving complaints about nine crashes and two injuries.

NHTSA gave GM the information it collected, including  so the company could conduct its own investigation.

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GM said the problem could affect braking in "rare circumstances".

NHTSA said in a statement the "vehicles may experience brake boost failure, which would require increased brake pedal effort, leading to a hard brake pedal feel, and potentially increased stopping distance".

The vacuum assist pump, lubricated with engine oil that flows into the pump through a filter screen, can in some cases lose effectiveness over time, because oil sludge or other things can accumulate on the filter screen, according to the company.

Earlier models aren't affected as they use a different brake assist system design, and vehicles manufactured after 2018 were not equipped with the affected pump design, Reuters reported.

GM said dealers would reprogramme the electronic brake control module to improve how the system uses the hydraulic brake boost assist function when vacuum assist is depleted.