GM, Isuzu recalling 185,000+ small pickups over faulty brakelights
GM's midsize Colorado and Canyon pickups are being recalled, along with their Isuzu cousins, to replace a brake light switch that may be faulty. Nearly 186,000 of the pickups are affected by the problem, which could result in either no brake lights or brake lights that stay on.
The afflicted vehicles were either originally sold, or are currently registered in 14 states and territories, though a program to cover other locales will be swinging into effect soon. New parts are in the pipeline, but won't arrive until February 2010. in the interim, owners who have trouble with their trucks can get a free repair, and they will be required to return to have the new part swapped in when it becomes available. More information can be found at NHTSA's safercar.gov website. Check out the press release after the jump for more details.
[Source: NHTSA]
PRESS RELEASE:
Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
CHEVROLET / COLORADO 2004-2009
GMC / CANYON 2004-2009
ISUZU / I-280 2006
ISUZU / I-290 2007-2008
ISUZU / I-350 2006
ISUZU / I-370 2007-2008
Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. Mfr's Report Date: JUL 28, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V310000
RQ09001
NHTSA Action Number: RQ09001
Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH
Potential Number of Units Affected: 185903
Summary:
GM IS RECALLING 185,903 MODEL YEAR 2004-2009 COLORADO, GMC MODEL YEAR 2009-2004 CANYON, MODEL YEAR 2006 I-280, I-350, MODEL YEAR 2007-2008 I-290, AND I-370, PASSENGER VEHICLES ORIGINALLY SOLD IN OR CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE STATES OF ALABAMA, ARIZONA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, HAWAII, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH CAROLINA, TEXAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND UTAH. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE A BRAKE LAMP SWITCH THAT MAY NOT WORK AS DESIGNED DUE TO CONTAMINATION IN THE SWITCH.
Consequence:
THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE THE SIMULTANEOUS LOSS OF ALL BRAKE LAMPS OR CAUSE ALL OF THE BRAKE LAMPS TO STAY ON CONTINUOUSLY. BOTH OF THESE CONDITIONS COULD FAIL TO WARN OTHERS OF THE DRIVER'S INTENTIONS AND COULD LEAD TO A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE NECESSARY COMPONENTS AS SPECIFIED IN THE RECALL BULLETIN FREE OF CHARGE. GM ANTICIPATES THAT PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE BY FEBRUARY 2010. A SPECIAL COVERAGE FOR VEHICLES REGISTERED IN ALL OTHER STATES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE SAME TIME FRAME. IN THE INTERIM, OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE CAN OBTAIN A FREE REPAIR, HOWEVER THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO RETURN WHEN THE NEW DESIGN PART BECOMES AVAILABLE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, ISUZU AT 1-800-255-6727 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Notes:
GM RECALL NO. 09049. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Protzenegger 6:52PM (8/03/2009)
Wow, that's a pretty serious issue. I'm somewhat surprised they didn't figure this out sooner, as the trucks have been in production for 5 years now.
Reply
PJ 7:55PM (8/03/2009)
I have no problem with recalls, since they're defects that, statistically, most owners are likely to have fixed before they ever present a problem. That said, having driven several Colorados and Canyons, there are myriad other reasons not to buy these trucks.
nrb 11:23PM (8/03/2009)
"Wow, that's a pretty serious issue."
For the other guy.
RMN 6:58PM (8/03/2009)
Why do these press releases have to be in all caps?
Reply
Big Mola 7:33PM (8/03/2009)
Obviously, the keyboard is defective and needs to be recalled.
Fyrewerx 9:11PM (8/03/2009)
... or maybe a federal regulation. I does seem odd, but not really annoying, that most of the content is caps (but not all).
Big Mola is probably right.
Tony 9:26PM (8/03/2009)
I am surprised 185,000+ people actually bought these trucks, especially with the 5 cylinder engine.
Reply
Farmboy 12:26AM (8/04/2009)
Actually, this is 185,000 on dealer lots. The "+" indicates the about 120 that were actually sold. :)
Poe 11:18PM (8/03/2009)
I really wanted to buy a small AMERICAN-made pickup, but my choices were this Isuzu-GM joint venture turd (which finished dead last in every comparison test I could find), the ancient Ranger with its mostly 1995 interior (14 years old!!!), or the Dakota (my horrible experience with a 2000 Durango ruled this one out immediately). I ended up buying a Toyota Tacoma - which is at least BUILT in America (NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA). It's OK... but not perfect by any stretch. Toyota cheaped out on several areas.
It's a shame the U.S. automakers have effectively forfeited this segment to Toyota and Nissan. I really hope the redesigned Ranger is worth the wait - if it ever gets here.
Reply
stoltzbt 11:34PM (8/03/2009)
the sticker on the door of my colorado says made in Louisiana and guess what the profits from my AMERICAN made truck go right back to gm in Detroit Michigan USA, not Japan, like your ASSEMBLED in America tacoma (its cheaper to ship the parts and build em here then sending an actual finished vehicle). Ive owned my colorado for 5 years and have only had 2 small problems with the radio and cruise control, that's it.
Willie 12:05AM (8/04/2009)
This is actually pretty good. It has been a while since I heard of a major recall from GM (or Ford, Chrysler). It let's you know the American cars have really caught up to the Japanese brands in reliability. Especially Ford.
Reply
jager 1:20AM (8/04/2009)
again?
IIRC, these had a recall a few years back for something regarding the brake lights. That issue also resulted in non-functioning cruise control. @stoltzbt, that may have even been your cruise control issue. My dad's GMC Canyon is a great little truck for what it is. We put the 2-position tailgate to good use when building my garage recently as well.
Reply
Patrick 3:29AM (8/04/2009)
@stoltzbt
What you meant to say was the profits from your truck went back to Detroit where GM promptly wasted every dime of the money and still had to turn to the taxpayers for a bail out. Thanks a lot for making it worse by buying a junk product.
Meanwhile the profits on the Tacoma might have gone overseas but at least that money wasn't wasted and didn't end up supporting a brand that collapsed in on itself until not even light could escape.
Reply
Smokem 5:51AM (8/04/2009)
That is 100% true.
bassplayer02 8:38AM (8/04/2009)
There was a similar recall back in 2006. I never had issues with my cruise control though. If you search on the safecar.gov site the two recalls that show up are these two. My truck has been mostly trouble free, except for two little spots of rust showing up. :(
The 2001 Honda Accord has 18 recalls show up when searched.
Reply
Erik 10:17AM (8/04/2009)
Ok, so for the repair, you would take the Chevy to the Chevy dealer and the GMC to the GMC dealer, but where would you take the Isuzu?
Reply