Recall - Manual Steering Gear Defect: Overview
Bulletin Number: 95-C-01Date: 08/30/1994
CAMPAIGN: MANUAL STEERING GEAR REPLACEMENT
SUBJECT:
MANUAL STEERING GEAR REPLACEMENT
YEAR and MODEL:
1995 SATURN SL MODELS
TO: ALL SATURN RETAILERS and AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended, provides that each vehicle which is subject to a product campaign of this type must be adequately repaired within a reasonable time after the owner has tendered it for repair. A failure to adequately repair within sixty (60) days after tender of a vehicle is prima facie evidence of failure to repair within a reasonable time. If the condition is not repaired within a reasonable time, the owner may be entitled to an identical or reasonably equivalent vehicle at no charge, or a refund of the purchase price, less a reasonable allowance for depreciation.
To avoid having to provide these burdensome solutions, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each owner and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the copy of the owner letter, owners are being instructed to contact the Saturn Assistance Center if their Retailer does not remedy the condition within five (5) days of the service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, owners are instructed how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
DEFECT INVOLVED
Saturn has determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety
exists in certain 1995 SL models equipped with manual steering. Some of these vehicles may have been built with a steering gear pinion shaft that was improperly heat-treated by our supplier. This shaft could fracture during vehicle operation. If this were to occur, steering control would be lost and a vehicle crash could occur without prior warning. To correct this condition, Saturn will replace the manual steering gear assembly in these vehicles.
Most of the affected vehicles are in Retailer inventory and have not been delivered to customers.
However, we are contacting owners of affected, delivered vehicles and assisting them in making arrangements with a Saturn Retailer to have their vehicle transported to a Retail facility for service.
Owners are being advised not to drive the vehicles until repairs have been completed.
VEHICLES INVOLVED
The following Saturn vehicles will require this campaign:
Certain 1995 Saturn SL model vehicles within the following VIN range will require this campaign:
SZ119029 through SZ129713.
Not all SL model vehicles within the above VIN range are affected. Refer to the complete VIN list shown, which details all vehicles requiring campaign correction. It is important to note that campaign claims will only be paid on involved vehicles.
OWNER NOTIFICATION
Owners of vehicles involved will be notified of this campaign by Saturn.
FACILITY VIN LISTING
The Facility VIN Listing (with owner information) is, furnished to involved Retailers with the Product Campaign Bulletin. Although these vehicles are assigned to your facility, it is important to note that owners may elect to have their vehicle serviced at the Saturn Retail Facility of their choice.
Those Retailers not involved initially in this campaign will receive a message at the top of a blank Facility VIN Listing that states: NO VEHICLES ASSIGNED AT THIS TIME FOR CAMPAIGN 95C01.
These listings may contain owner names and addresses obtained from State Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any other purpose is a violation of the law in several states. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to the follow up necessary to complete this campaign. Those records updated with California DMV registration information will have the following message printed adjacent to the appropriate VIN: "OWNER INFORMATION UPDATED BY CALIFORNIA DMV; PUBLICATION PROHIBITED."
REMOTE OWNER STRATEGY
In order to minimize customer inconvenience and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction, owners who live in a remote location from an open Saturn Retail Facility may be contacted by Saturn to arrange to have their vehicles serviced in a manner convenient to them. Therefore, you may notice that not all vehicles which were sold by you are on your Facility VIN Listing.
RETAILER RESPONSIBILITY
All unsold new vehicles in Retailers' possession and subject to this campaign must be held at the retail facility and repaired per the service procedure of this campaign bulletin before owners take possession of these vehicles. Until this repair is completed, the vehicles should not be driven under any circumstances.
Retailers are to service all vehicles subject to this campaign at no charge to owners, regardless of mileage, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward.
Owners of vehicles recently sold from your new vehicle inventory are to be contacted by the Retailer, and arrangements made to make the required correction according to instructions contained in this bulletin.
In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign enters your vehicle inventory, or is in your retail facility for service in the future, please take the steps necessary to be sure the campaign correction has been made before selling or releasing the vehicle.
TRANSFER OF CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY
Saturn vehicles that have been sold by you, which may be closer in proximity to another Saturn Retailer, may still appear on your Facility VIN Listing. If either you or the vehicle owner determines that it is more desirable for a vehicle on your Facility VIN Listing to be serviced by another Saturn Retailer, campaign responsibility may be transferred by 1) submitting a Campaign Vehicle Action Report to your field representative, or 2) submitting an update in owner information to the Saturn Owner of Record system, via SERVICELINE, for Field Organization review and approval. A copy of the Campaign Vehicle Action Report can be found in your Service Support Activities Folder. All changes to campaign responsibility will be reflected in your next monthly Unfixed VIN Report.
All other changes in vehicle status (e.g., scrapped, stolen, etc.) are to be made in accordance with section 4.4.3 of the Retailer Service Reference Guide (Notifying Saturn of Vehicle Status Change).
PARTS INFORMATION
DISPOSITION OF REPLACED PARTS
Retailers are to return the replaced steering gear assembly along with the packing slip and a copy of the customer service order to:
GM-Saginaw/Product Anal/Plt 21 Highway 31 South Athens, AL 35611 Attention: Eddie Dorning
IMPORTANT:
It is critical that the replaced steering gear assembly be returned to GM-Saginaw at the above address along with the packing slip and a copy of the customer service order.
SUGGESTIONS FOR ENSURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
As you know, Saturn's success hinges upon our ability to execute superior customer support throughout the ownership experience, especially when important corrective actions such as this are required. It is imperative that every effort is made to accommodate the affected owners. If you have any questions, please coordinate with the Saturn Assistance Center to help ensure customer satisfaction.
CAMPAIGN COMPLETION LABEL
Upon completion of the campaign, a Campaign Completion Label should be affixed on a clean, dry surface of the radiator core support in an area clearly visible when the hood is raised Each label provides a space to print in ink (or type) the campaign number (95C01) and the five (5) digit facility code of the Retail performing the campaign service.
As a reminder, additional labels may be obtained from your Service Support Activities Folder (provided to each facility as part of their "start-up" package) or may be ordered from Saturn Publications Item # S03 00013).
CREDIT
Disclaimer