CAMPAIGN:REINFORCEMENT PANEL OMITTED. Chevrolet Beretta 1995

Subject: PRODUCT SAFETY CAMPAIGN 95-C-03 REINFORCEMENT PANEL OMITTED FROM RIGHT HAND ROCKER PANEL ASSEMBLY

Model and Year: 1994-95 CHEVROLET BERETTA

To: All Chevrolet/Geo Dealers

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended, provides that each vehicle which is subject to a recall campaign of this type must be adequately repaired within a reasonable time after the owner has tendered it for repair. A failure to 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 adequately repaired within a reasonable time, the owner may be entitled to an identical or reasonably equivalent vehicle at no charge or to 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 attached copy of the letter that is being sent to owners, the owners are being instructed to contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center if their dealer does not remedy the condition within five (5) days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DEFECT INVOLVED

General Motors has determined that certain 1994-95 Chevrolet Berettas fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208, "Occupant Crash Protection". Some of these vehicles were built with a reinforcement panel omitted from the right side rocker panel assembly. In the event of a vehicle crash, the vehicle crash performance could result in a reduced level of occupant protection.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring, dealers are to inspect suspect vehicles for the presence of this rocker panel reinforcement. If the reinforcement panel is not present, dealers are to contact Chevrolet Motor Division as instructed later in this bulletin.

VEHICLES INVOLVED

Involved are certain 1994-95 Chevrolet Beretta model vehicles built within the following VIN breakpoints:

PLANT YEAR MODEL PLANT CODE FROM THROUGH ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1994 L-Car Wilmington "Y" RY307839 RY308379 1995 L-Car Wilmington "Y" SY100033 SY102865

Involved vehicles have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number Computer Listings. Computer listings contain the complete Vehicle Identification Number, owner name and address data, and were furnished to involved dealers in Chevrolet Administrative Messages 02-367, 02-368 and 02-369. Owner name and address data furnished will enable dealers to follow-up with owners involved in this campaign.

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 law in several states. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to the follow-up necessary to complete this campaign. Any dealer not receiving a computer listing with the campaign bulletin has no involved vehicles currently assigned.

OWNER NOTIFICATION

Owners will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by Chevrolet Motor Division (see copy of owner letter included with this bulletin) and customers will personally be contacted by phone.

DEALER CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY

All unsold new vehicles in dealers' possession and subject to this campaign must be held and inspected per the service procedure of this campaign bulletin before owners take possession of these vehicles. Dealers 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 with no owner information indicated on the dealer listing, are to be contacted by the dealer, and arrangements made to make the required correction according to the instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such owners a copy of the owners letter accompanying this bulletin. Campaign follow-up cards should not be used for this purpose, since the owner may not as yet have received the notification letter.

In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign enters your vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership 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.

This bulletin is notice to you that the new motor vehicles included in this campaign may not comply with the standard identified above. Under Section 108 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, it is illegal for a dealer to sell a new motor vehicle which the dealer knows does not comply with an applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. As a consequence, if you sell any of these motor vehicles without first performing the campaign correction, your dealership may be subject to a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each such sale.

PARTS INFORMATION

No parts are required to complete this campaign.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

Notice: A suspension type-contact hoist must be used to perform the following inspection procedure. If the rocker panel reinforcement has been omitted, the welded flange that serves as a lift point for frame-contact type hoists may not have sufficient structural rigidity to support the vehicle, and substantial damage to the vehicle could occur if the rocker panel reinforcement has been omitted.

1. Raise vehicle on suspension-contact type hoist (see "Notice", above)

2. Inspect the right rocker panel area for the presence of the rocker panel reinforcement by carefully observing the underside of the RH rocker panel area along the outboard side of the RH welded flange. There should not be any gaps or openings in the horizontal surfaces of the sheet metal in this area. Refer to illustration on page 5.

O If there are no gaps or openings, the rocker panel has been properly assembled and no further service is required. Proceed to step 3 of this service procedure.

O If there is a 3/4" to 1" gap just outboard of the welded flange that runs the entire length of the rocker panel, the rocker panel reinforcement has been omitted. Contact Chevrolet Motor Division per instructions in the "Chevrolet Contact Instructions" section of this bulletin (page 6).

IMPORTANT: IF THE ROCKER PANEL REINFORCEMENT IS FOUND TO HAVE BEEN OMITTED, THE INVOLVED VEHICLE MUST BE HELD BY THE DEALERSHIP. THE OWNER IS TO BE FURNISHED A RENTAL VEHICLE AT NO CHARGE.

3. Lower vehicle.

4. Install Campaign Identification Label.

CAMPAIGN IDENTIFICATION LABEL

Each vehicle corrected in accordance with the instructions outlined in this Product Campaign Bulletin will require a "Campaign Identification Label". Each label provides a space to include the campaign number and the five (5) digit dealer code of the dealer performing the campaign service. This information may be inserted with a typewriter or a ball point pen.

Each "Campaign Identification Label" is to be located on the radiator core support in an area which will be visible when the vehicle is brought in for periodic servicing by the owner. Additional "Campaign Identification Labels" can be obtained from DAC.

Apply "Campaign Identification Label" only on a clean, dry surface.

CHEVROLET CONTACT INSTRUCTIONS

If a vehicle is found to have had the rocker panel reinforcements omitted, contact your Chevrolet Regional Office to commence the repurchase process.

Also, a facsimile (FAX) must be transmitted to Chevrolet Motor Division with the following information:

FACSIMILE (FAX) TRANSMISSION

TO: Chevrolet Motor Division

ATTENTION:

Walt Kramer

FAX #: (810) 492-9232

PHONE #: (810) 492-9663

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN):_______________________________________

Dealer Stock No.:_______________________________________

Dealership Information: Name: _______________________________________

Dealer Code:_______________________________________

Address: _______________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________________

Fax: ________________________________________

Designated Contact At Dealership: ________________________________________

Owner Information: Name: ________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________

Telephone: _________________________________________

CLAIM INFORMATION

Submit a Product Campaign Claim with the information indicated below:

* REPAIR FAILED PARTS LABOR LABOR OTHER PERFORMED PC PART NO. ALLOW CC-FC OP HOURS HOURS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Inspect Vehicle For Presence Of - - - - - SK-00 V9160 0.2 0.1 Rocker Panel Reinforcement

Inspect Vehicle - - - - - SK-00 V9161 0.2 0.1 & Repurchase

* Campaign Administrative Allowance.

Dealers will automatically receive the correct labor and material allowance based on the labor operation performed.

Refer to the Chevrolet Claims Processing Manual for details on Product Campaign Claim Submission.

Dear Chevrolet Beretta Owner:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

REASON FOR THIS RECALL

WHAT WE WILL DO

To prevent this condition from occurring, your dealer will inspect your Beretta for the presence of this rocker panel reinforcement. If the reinforcement panel is not present, dealers are to contact Chevrolet Motor Division for further instructions. This service will be performed for you at no charge.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Please contact your Chevrolet dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date. Instructions for making this inspection have been sent to your dealer. The labor time necessary to perform the inspection is approximately 10 minutes. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed to schedule and process your vehicle.

Your Chevrolet dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide service to ensure that your vehicle is corrected as promptly as possible. If, however, you take your vehicle to your dealer on the agreed service date, and they do not remedy this condition on that date or within five (5) days, we recommend you contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center by calling 1-800-222-1020.

After contacting your dealer and the Customer Assistance Center, if you are still not satisfied that we have done our best to remedy this condition without charge and within a reasonable time, you may wish to write the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 or call 1-800-424-9393 (Washington D.C. residents use 366-0123).

The enclosed owner reply card identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this card to your dealer will assist in making the necessary inspection in the shortest possible time. If you have sold or traded your vehicle, please let us know by completing the postage paid reply card and returning it to us.

We are sorry to cause you this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

Chevrolet Motor Division GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

Object Number: 82847 Size: FS

General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.