FMVSS Noncompliance-Left Rear Door Upper Hinge Weld

General Motors has decided that certain 2003 model year Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban; GMC Yukon; and Cadillac Escalade vehicles built at Arlington Assembly Plant fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214, "Side Impact Protection." These vehicles are built with four welds on the rear door upper hinge. On some of these vehicles, one or two of the welds may not be to specification. As a result, the door strength may be degraded during a side impact vehicle crash.

Dealers are to inspect the welds on the left rear door upper hinge. If a weld is found out-of-specification, a bolt will be installed to secure the hinge.

Involved are the 2003 model year Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade vehicles built at Arlington Assembly Plant and listed below:

Important: Dealers should confirm vehicle eligibility through GMVIS (GM Vehicle Inquiry System) before beginning recall repairs.

Parts required to complete this recall are to be obtained from General Motors Service Parts Operations (GMSPO). Please refer to your "involved vehicles listing" before ordering parts. Normal orders should be placed on a DRO = Daily Replenishment Order. In an emergency situation, parts should be ordered on a CSO = Customer Special Order.

The following service procedure is for inspecting the welds that attach the left rear side door upper hinge (1) to the body "B" pillar sheet metal. If you find that the two rear welds are missing from the upper hinge, or smaller than the others, perform the repair procedure included.

1. Open both left side doors.





2. Using a flat-bladed tool, remove both door opening sill plates by prying upward to release the retainers.
3. Move the driver's seat and seatback to the full forward position.



4. Using a flat-bladed tool, remove the center ("B") pillar garnish molding and reposition insulation.



5. From inside the vehicle, look through the opening in the center pillar sheet metal directly behind the upper hinge.

•	If there are four welds (1) present and ALL four are approximately the same size, NO repair is required. Proceed to Step 14 to reassemble the vehicle.

•	If ONE of the REAR welds is missing, or is a lot smaller in size than the others, NO repair is required. Proceed to Step 14 to reassemble the vehicle.

•	If TWO of the REAR welds are missing, or if the two rear welds are a lot smaller than the front welds, then a repair is required.

Important: The next steps should only be performed if the two rear welds are BOTH missing or are a lot smaller in size than the others. Also, you only have to repair one of the two welds.

6. Place shop towels on the floor at the base of the center pillar to catch the metal shavings when drilling in the next step.
7. From inside the vehicle, center punch and drill a 1/8 in pilot hole through the body sheet metal where one of the missing welds should be. If the welds are present, but just smaller in size, drill the hole directly through the center of one of the small welds. Continue drilling all the way through the hinge plate on the other side.
8. Using a 15/32 in drill bit, increase the size of the hole to allow for the installation of the repair stud (bolt).
9. Remove any metal burrs or debris from the drilled hole. Touch-up the drilled hole as necessary using the information found in the applicable Service Manual and GM Refinish Material Booklet #4901M-D-2003 (English) or #4901M-D-F2003 (French).



10. From outside the vehicle, install the bolt (1) into the drilled hole in the upper hinge (2).

Important: When tightening the nut in the next step, the serration on the shoulder of the bolt will begin to pull into the hinge plate. Until the serrations begin to pull in, it may be necessary to hold the bolt with the appropriate tool.

11. From inside the vehicle, install the nut on the bolt.

Tighten
Tighten to 25 N·m (18 lb ft).

12. Verify that the head of the bolt is fully seated to the hinge plate.
13. Apply body color touch-up paint as necessary to the head of the bolt.
14. Remove the shop towels and clean up any metal shavings.
15. Position the center pillar garnish molding to the pillar and press into place to attach the retainers.
16. Install both door opening sill plates.
17. Install the GM Recall Identification Label.

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

Put the Recall Identification Label on a clean and dry surface of the radiator core support in an area that will be visible to people servicing the vehicle. When installing the Recall Identification Label, be sure to pull the tab to allow the adhesion of the clear protective covering. Additional Recall Identification Labels for US dealers can be obtained from Dealer Support Materials by either ordering on the web from DWD Store, gm-dealerworld.com, or calling 1-866-700-0001 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST). Ask for Item Number S-1015 when ordering.

The General Motors Courtesy Transportation program is intended to minimize customer inconvenience when a vehicle requires a repair that is covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. The availability of courtesy transportation to customers whose vehicles are within the warranty coverage period and involved in a product recall is very important in maintaining customer satisfaction. Dealers are to ensure that these customers understand that shuttle service or some other form of courtesy transportation is available and will be provided at no charge. Dealers should refer to the General Motors Service Policies and Procedures Manual for Courtesy Transportation guidelines.

Refer to the General Motors WINS Claim Processing Manual for details on Product Recall Claim Submission.

Customers will be notified of this recall on their vehicles by General Motors (see copy of customer letter included with this bulletin).

The US National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides that each vehicle that is subject to a recall of this type must be adequately repaired within a reasonable time after the customer has tendered it for repair. A failure to repair within sixty 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 customer 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 these burdensome remedies, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each customer and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. In the recall notification letters, customers are told how to contact the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if the recall is not completed within a reasonable time.

This bulletin is notice to you that the new motor vehicles included in this recall may not comply with the standard identified above. Under Title 49, Section 30112 of the United States Code, 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 recall correction, your dealership may be subject to a civil penalty for each such sale.

All unsold new vehicles in dealers' possession and subject to this recall MUST be held and inspected/repaired per the service procedure of this recall bulletin BEFORE customers take possession of these vehicles.

Dealers are to service all vehicles subject to this recall at no charge to customers, regardless of mileage, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward.

Customers who have recently purchased vehicles sold from your vehicle inventory, and for which there is no customer information indicated on the dealer listing, are to be contacted by the dealer. Arrangements are to be made to make the required correction according to the instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such customers a copy of the customer letter accompanying this bulletin. Recall follow-up cards should not be used for this purpose, since the customer may not as yet have received the notification letter.

In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this recall enters your vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership for service in the future, please take the steps necessary to be sure the recall correction has been made before selling or releasing the vehicle.

Dear General Motors Customer:

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

General Motors has decided that certain 2003 model year Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban; GMC Yukon; and Cadillac Escalade vehicles built at Arlington Assembly Plant fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214, "Side Impact Protection." These vehicles are built with four welds on the rear door upper hinge. On some of these vehicles, one or two of the welds may not be to specification. As a result, the door strength may be degraded during a side impact vehicle crash.

Your GM dealer will inspect the welds on the left rear door upper hinge. If a weld is found out-of-specification, a bolt will be installed to secure the hinge. This service will be performed for you at no charge .

The length of time required to perform this inspection is approximately 15 minutes, and another 15 minutes if the service correction is required. Additional time may be required to schedule and process your vehicle. If you dealer has a large number of vehicles awaiting service, this additional time may be significant. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed schedule, process, and repair your vehicle.

Please contact your GM dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date. Parts are available and instructions for making this correction have been sent to your dealer.

Your dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide services to correct your vehicle as promptly as possible. Should your dealer be unable to schedule a service date within a reasonable time, you should contact the appropriate Customer Assistance Center at the number listed below:

If, after contacting the appropriate customer assistance center, 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 SW, Washington, DC 20590 or call 1-888-327-4236.

The attached customer reply card identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this card to your dealer will assist in making the necessary correction in the shortest possible time. If you no longer own this vehicle, please let us know by completing the attached and mailing it in the postage paid envelope.

If your vehicle is within the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, your dealer may provide you with shuttle service or some other form of courtesy transportation while your vehicle is at the dealership for this repair. Please refer to your Owner's Manual and your dealer for details on Courtesy Transportation.

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.

General Motors Corporation

Enclosure