2003 Chevrolet Yukon

On January 11, 2011, ODI opened EA11-001 to investigate allegations of premature brake line corrosion failure in model year (MY) 1999 through 2003 General Motors (GM) full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles sold or registered in the following region of the United States that NHTSA has viewed as salt states for investigations of corrosion related issues:Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.The subject vehicles represent the first five MY's of GM's GMT800 platform production, of which approximately 2,038,504 vehicles were sold in salt states (the subject vehicles).The GMT800 platform includes the following vehicles:1999-2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 series pick-up trucks; 2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles; and 2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche sport-utility vehicles.General Motors produced a total of approximately 10,427,062 GMT800 vehicles for sales in the United States, including almost 5 million that were sold in salt states.Although there are over 60 different brake pipe routing configuration used in GMT800 vehicles, with the exception of the rear crossover pipes in MY 200x-2007 vehicles that changed from rear disc to drum brakes, all of the vehicles use brake pipes from the same supplier with a common double-wall, brazed steel pipe design with a combination of hot dip Zinc-Aluminum corrosion protection coating and Aluminum paint outer layer known in the industry as AlGal (ASTM-B750). ODI analysis of field data regarding GMT800 vehicles identified a total of 3,645 complaints of brake pipe corrosion failures, including 107 alleging crashes, and 40 injuries.Though only 20% of total GMT800 production, due to age and region the subject vehicles account for a disproportionate share of the failure experience; with 2,702 of the complaints (75%), 88 of the crashes (82%) and 20 of the injuries (50%) reported in those vehicles.Analysis of the complaints showed strong correlations to vehicle age and region.For vehicles with less than 8 years of service, the complaint rates were minimal for all regions.In the salt states the failure rates begin to climb as the vehicles advance in age, particularly in the Northeast corner of the United States.The complaint rates in the salt states go from less than 0.1 incident per thousand vehicles (IPTV) at 7 years in service to over 1.0 IPTV after the 12th year of service for the subject pickup trucks and utility vehicles.Most of the failures reported to ODI occurred in vehicles with more than 10 years in service.ODI?s investigation did not identify any specific defect conditions that were causing or contributing to the brake pipe failures.Nor did the analysis isolate the problem to any subject vehicle sub-populations when analyzed by vehicle type or production range.The investigation found that vehicles experiencing brake pipe corrosion failures were likely to have general patterns of excessive corrosion on the majority of the brake pipe assembly and appear to be occurring due to expected wear out for the brake pipe coating material used in the subject vehicles and the environmental conditions in severe corrosion states.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor t

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

GM IS CONDUCTING A RECALL ON ALL SUBJECT VEHICLES BUILD BETWEEN MAY 1999 AND OCTOBER 14, 1999.SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE INCORPORATED INTO PRODUCTION IN EARLY OCTOBER 1999, AND VEHICLES BUILT AFTER THAT DATE HAVE LOWER WARRANTY FAILURE RATES.THE COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY DATA APPEAR TO SUPPORT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE CHANGES. GM MADE ADDITIONAL CHANGES IN NOVEMBER 1999, FEBRUARY 2000, MAY 2001, AND FEBRUARY 2004.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS PROBLEM AND WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION, IF WARRANTED, IN THE FUTURE.FOR FURTHER TECHNICAL DETAILS SEE THE ATTACHED ENGINEERING ANALYSIS REPORT.

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Yukon equip with Michelin X Radial LT2 tires sized 265/75R16 DOT M34N00CX. The contact stated that while driving in the rain the turning corners the vehicle would become unstable and slide and on 2 separate occasions while driving approximately 20 mph and making a turn the vehicle spun out. The contact indicated that the failure was due to a loss of tire air pressure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11437212

Incident

Oct 1, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET YUKON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE RPMS GAUGE FAILED AND THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED TO DISPLAY ACCURATE READINGS. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10654865

Incident

Nov 11, 2014

Mileage

70,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET YUKON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE FUEL GAUGE FAILED TO PROVIDE ACCURATE READING LEVELS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 114,000. UPDATED 08/25/14*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THERE WAS A EXPIRED RECALL. THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THAT HE WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF ANY RECALL. UPDATED 09/5/2014 *JS

NHTSA ID

10593474

Incident

Jan 1, 2011

Mileage

60,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET YUKON DENALI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE STABILITY DISABLED REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED ONCE BEFORE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT NO CAUSE FOR THE FAILURE WAS FOUND. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT IT COULD BE THE THROTTLE BODY BUT THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 103,000.

NHTSA ID

10500748

Incident

Feb 28, 2013

Mileage

103,000 mi

SPEEDOMETER CLUSTER DEFECT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10308695

Incident

Jan 1, 2009

Mileage

79,000 mi

WE HAD A FAULTY SPEEDOMETER READING GOING WHAT SEEMED TO BE 85MPH DOWN THE 395 WHILE OUR SPEEDOMETER READ 30MPH. WHEN THE PIN FINALLY READ 0 MPH FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES (ACTUAL RATE OF SPEED WAS APPROX. 30MPH) IT RESET AND WAS BACK TO NORMAL. WE ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING THE PART. NOT SURE IF GMC WILL COVER THE REPAIR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10225631

Incident

Apr 16, 2008

(2003 CHEVROLET TAHOE) SPEEDOMETER STICKS AROUND 70 OR STOPS WORKING WHILE DRIVING LONG DISTANCES 2 OR MORE HIGHWAY HOURS AWAY. TURNING THE ENGINE OFF FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME ALLOWS THE SPEEDOMETER TO RESUME ITS NORMAL FUNCTION JUST TO DUPLICATE THE MALFUNCTION. I HAVE SINCE RECEIVED A LETTER DETAILING THE ABOVE STATED PROBLEM FROM CHEVROLET THAT THE LOCAL DEALERSHIPS WILL NOT HONOR BECAUSE MY VEHICLE IS OVER THE MILEAGE STATED IN THE LETTER WHEN MY FIRST COMPLAINTS OVER A YEAR AGO WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER THE MILEAGE STIPULATION. I TRAVEL FOR WORK A LOT IN MY PERSONAL VEHICLE AND HAVE PUT ON MORE THAN 100K SINCE MY PURCHASE OF THIS VEHICLE IN 10/03 WHEN IT HAD LESS THAN 3 MILES ON IT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10212987

Incident

Dec 27, 2007

Mileage

68,500 mi

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET YUKON. WHILE DRIVING THE HEADLIGHTS BEGAN TO FLICKER ON AND OFF AND DIM. THE SPEED WAS UNKNOWN. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE, HOWEVER; THEY REPLACED THE WIRE HARNESS FROM THE CHARGING SYSTEM TO THE BATTERY. THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ANOTHER DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE WIRE FROM UNDER THE HOOD TO THE DASHBOARD. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,670. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 69,128.

NHTSA ID

10200513

Incident

Jun 8, 2004

Mileage

14,670 mi

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about changing the tire and wheel size on vehicles. General Motors will only support a tire calibration for tires that have been sized, tested and designed for the vehicle in question and its applications. Technician should not use the information that is provided by the antilock braking system tire size selection.

Vehicle Wide Programming (VWP) is a new process to update software on GM Vehicles. It provides the ability via a single selection within Techline Connect to first identify which modules need updating and then proceed to updating affected modules (with some exceptions). The updating of modules is completed in parallel instead of the technician needing to update one module at a time. This allows a more streamlined approach for dealers and customers.

GM is receiving damaged (cracked or broken) transmission cores returned to the reman facilities. The damage is being caused either in the removal process by the technician, or inadequate packaging or shipping. This bulletin advises the dealers to be more careful not to damage the transmissions during removal and to package the core properly for return.

This service bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how Top Tier fuels should be used to reduce carbon build-up.

This bulletin provides information for use on a Product Assistance Claim (PAC), which is formerly known as a Product Allegation Resolution (PAR) claim.