2003 GMC Tahoe

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received Defect Petition DP10-003 on March 2, 2010, requesting the investigation of model year (MY) 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4WD pickup trucks for corrosion failures of the vehicle brake lines.DP10-003 was granted and on March 30, 2010, Preliminary Evaluation PE10-010 was opened on more than six million model year 1999 through 2003 light trucks and sport utility vehicles manufactured and sold by General Motors Corporation (GM).On July 2, 2010, ODI received GM's response to an information request, which included GM's assessment of the frequency and safety consequences of the alleged defect. GM stated that:(1) the brake system of the subject vehicles is split front/rear and should a brake pipe suddenly fail for any reason, the affected vehicle would be capable of stopping with the pressure supplied by the remaining circuit; (2) the subject vehicles were designed to meet the hydraulic circuit partial failure requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 105 and 135, Light Vehicle Brake Systems; and (3) should a brake fluid leak occur for any reason, the brake system malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) would illuminate and warn the driver before the brake fluid level was low enough to cause a loss of line pressure.ODI's and GM's analysis indicates that 85 percent of the complaints occurred on vehicles used primarily in States that use salt on the roads during Winter months (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).Overall the complaint rates per 100,000 vehicles for Salt Belt States is 43.0 and Non-Salt Belt is 3.0.In approximately 25 percent of the complaints the brake pipe failure occurred suddenly, with no warning (i.e., no MIL, Brake Fluid Loss Warning), and resulted in extended stopping distances.In 30 of these the increase in stopping distance that resulted was a factor in the crash and in 10 others the vehicle was intentionally steered off the road or into another lane of travel in order to avoid a crash.This investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA11-001) for subject vehicles sold or currently registered in Salt Belt States to further assess the scope, frequency and safety risks associated with sudden failures of corroded brake pipes that can result in decreased brake effectiveness. ODI will continue to gather information on subject vehicles outside the Salt Belt as well.

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.

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.

2003 GMC TAHOE. SPEEDOMETER QUIT WORKING WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10208605

Incident

Nov 6, 2007

TL* - THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE REGISTERS 1/8 OF A TANK OF GAS WHEN TANK IS EMPTY. THERE ARE NO WARNINGS GIVEN TO INDICATE THAT THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF GAS. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE LEVEL SENSOR TWICE. THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN PARK WHEN IT IS DISCOVERED THAT THE TANK IS EMPTY. THE CONTACT STATES ONCE HE PUTS GAS IN THE VEHICLE IT STARTS RIGHT UP. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE REPAIR SHOP 6 TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

10176740

Incident

Sep 20, 2006

Mileage

60,000 mi

MY 2003 CHEVROLET TAHOE HAS BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SPEEDOMETER. WHEN IT IS COLD, AND I START THE CAR UP IN THE MORNING, THE SPEEDOMETER JUMPS UP, AND SAYS THE SPEED IS ABOUT 10 MPH. ONCE I START DRIVING, IT QUICKLY JUMPS UP IN EXCESS OF 120 MPH, AND OFF THE CHARTS. THEN WHEN COMING BACK DOWN TO IDLE, IT SITS ANYWHERE FROM 60 MPH - 90 MPH. TO CLEAR THIS BACK TO ZERO, AND GET IT TO SEEM LIKE IT IS WORKING PROPERLY, I HAVE TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE, TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN, AND THEN IT JUMPS DOWN 10 MPH EACH TIME IT TURNS BACK ON. SO I HAVE TO DO THIS SEVERAL TIMES TO GET IT BACK TO NORMAL. THIS HAPPENED ON THANKSGIVING, AND THEN AGAIN TODAY. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM AMON GM VEHICLE OWNERS, WITH TAHOES, YUKON'S, AVALANCES, AND OTHER CHEVROLET/GMC TRUCKS/SUV'S. THE CHEVROLET DEALERS SAY THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS TO BE REPLACED, AND PARTS AND LABOR FOR THIS, SEEMS TO BE ANYWHERE FROM $350 - $700+. WITH SUCH A WIDESPREAD REPORT OF THIS PROBLEM, GM NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS, AND STOP MAKING PEOPLE PAY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. *JB

NHTSA ID

10175332

Incident

Dec 6, 2006

Mileage

60,000 mi

WHEN DRIVING AROUND CORNERS,MILD TO SEVERE,VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A CLICKING NOISE THEY STATED IT WAS IN THE STEERING SHAFT WOULD ORDER NEW PART .4TO6WEEKS TO RECIEVE WAS NOT A SAFTY ISSUE OK TO DRIVE.THIS VEHICLE HAS BECOME MORE DIFFICULT TO DRIVE BY THE DAY.A WIND GUST TOSSES IT ALL OVER THE ROAD. STILL NOT FIXED.STATED GM CANNOT MAKE THE REPLACEMENT PARTS FAST ENOUGH. *AK

NHTSA ID

10104484

Incident

Nov 6, 2004

Mileage

17,934 mi

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

This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on OnStar Module 2G Sunset Information.

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.