Product Safety - Rear Side Door Closure

General Motors has decided that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2002-2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL vehicles that have ever been registered in corrosion areas. The rear side doors on these vehicles may not latch or may not unlatch properly due to corrosion caused by road splash, such as water and road salt. Depending on the location of the corrosion in the latch, the door may either be difficult to open from the inside or outside, or may bounce back when the door is swung shut from the outside. The driver information center may or may not indicate that the door is ajar. If the door is not latched properly and it goes unnoticed, it may open while the vehicle is in motion. If the occupant is unbelted, they may fall out of the vehicle and personal injury could occur.

Dealers are to install a seal to prevent water intrusion into the latch. The latch is also to be inspected and replaced, if necessary.

Involved are certain 2002-2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL vehicles operated in corrosion areas and built within these VIN breakpoints:

Important: Dealers should confirm vehicle eligibility through GMVIS (GM Vehicle Inquiry System) prior to beginning recall repairs. [Not all vehicles within the above breakpoints may be involved.]

For dealers with involved vehicles, a Campaign Initiation Detail Report (CIDR) containing the complete vehicle identification number, customer name and address data has been prepared and will be loaded to the GM DealerWorld (US) Recall Information, GMinfoNet (Canada) Recall Reports. Dealers will not have a report available if they have no involved vehicles currently assigned.

The Campaign Initiation Detail Report may contain customer names and addresses obtained from Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any purpose other than follow-up necessary to complete this recall is a violation of law in several states/provinces/countries. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this report to the follow-up necessary to complete this recall.

Parts Pre-Ship Information

Important: An initial supply of weatherstrips required to complete this recall will be pre-shipped to involved dealers of record. This pre-shipment is scheduled to begin the week of February 6, 2006, and will be approximately 10% of each dealer’s involved vehicles. Pre-shipped parts will be charged to dealer’s open parts account.

Additional parts, if required, 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.

Important: It is estimated that less than 10% of involved vehicles will require lock replacement. Please order parts accordingly.

1. Ensure that the rear rocker panel in the tape contact area (1) is clean and dry. Use a non oil based cleaner, preferably isopropyl alcohol. For Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT with molded-in-color rear rocker, coat the top of the rocker with adhesion promoter, P/N 12378462 (U.S.), 10953554 (Canada), or equivalent, and then allow it to dry.



2. With the door closed, trace the contour of the door using a china marker or grease pencil. Hold the taper of the marker to the door as shown.







3. Using the line from the china marker (4) as a guide and starting at the sill plate, install the seal along the rear rocker panel with seal bulb (2) toward the door. Flatten the bulb and align it to the china marker line pressing lightly.
4. Close the door and check for the gasket pushing out between the door and the body.
5. If the gasket was pushing out, realign the gasket in that area.



6. Trim the gasket so that it does not extend higher than the rocker panel (5) as necessary.
7. When the gasket is located, open the door and firmly press the gasket into place. A roller tool may be helpful in seating the gasket.
8. Check the door latch for proper operation:

8.1.	Open the rear door.

8.2.	Open the rear side closure.

8.3.	Listen for two audible clicks while rotating the fork bolt from the full open to the fully latched posiiton.

9. If two distinct audible clicks are NOT heard:

9.1.	Replace the latch assembly. Use the current service manual information (SI document 738077).

9.2.	Proceed to Step 11.

10. If two distinct audible clicks are heard:

10.1.

Ensure that the fork bolt is in the fully latched position.

10.2.

Blow out the latch in the area of the detent with compressed air.

11. Lubricate both sides of the detent pivot by spraying with GM Superlube for one secnod, and then cycle the latch open and closed several times to work the lubrication into the pivot.
12. Repeat Steps 1 through 11 for the rear door on the other side.

All customer requests for reimbursement for previous repairs for the recall condition will be handled by the Customer Assistance Center, not by dealers.

A General Motors Customer Reimbursement Procedure and Claim Form is included with the customer letter.

Important: (For GM US Only) Refer to the GM Service Policies and Procedures Manual, section 6.1.12, for specific procedures regarding customer reimbursement and the form.

Customer requests for reimbursement of previously paid repairs to the recall condition are to be submitted to dealers by February 28, 2007.

All reasonable customer paid receipts should be considered for reimbursement. The amount to be reimbursed will be limited to the amount the repair would have cost if completed by an authorized General Motors dealer.

When a customer requests reimbursement, they must provide the following:

Claims for customer reimbursement on previously paid repairs are to be submitted as required by WINS.

Important: Refer to the GM Service Policies and Procedures Manual, section 1.6.2, for specific procedures regarding customer reimbursement verification.

Submit a Product Recall Claim with the information indicated below:

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

General Motors will notify customers of this recall on their vehicle (see copy of customer letter included with this bulletin).

The US National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides that each vehicle which 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 to provide 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.

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. A copy of the customer letter is provided in this bulletin for your use in contacting customers. 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 a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2002 and 2003 model year Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL vehicles that have ever been registered in corrosion areas. The rear side doors on these vehicles may not latch or may not unlatch properly due to corrosion caused by road splash, such as water and road salt. Depending on the location of the corrosion in the latch, the door may either be difficult to open from the inside or outside, or may bounce back when the door is swung shut from the outside. The driver information center may or may not indicate that the door is ajar. If the door is not latched properly and it goes unnoticed, it may open while the vehicle is in motion. If the occupant is unbelted, they may fall out of the vehicle and personal injury could occur.

Your GM dealer will install a seal to prevent water intrusion into the latch. The latch will also be inspected and replaced if necessary. This service will be performed for you at no charge.

It is likely that your dealer will need your vehicle longer than the actual inspection and service correction time of approximately 20-55 minutes because of service scheduling requirements.

To limit any possible inconvenience, we recommend that you contact your dealer as soon as possible to schedule an appointment for this repair. By scheduling an appointment, your dealer can ensure that the necessary parts will be available on your scheduled appointment date. Should your dealer be unable to schedule a service date within a reasonable time, you should contact the appropriate Customer Assistance Center at the listed number below. The Customer Assistance Center’s hours of operation are from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM, EST, Monday through Friday.

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 40990; or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

The enclosed customer reply form identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this form 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 form and mailing it back to us.

The enclosed form explains what reimbursement is available and how to request reimbursement if you have paid for repairs for the recall condition.

More information about this recall, including answers to frequently asked questions, can be found at the Owner Center at My GMLink. This free online service offers vehicle and ownership related information along with tools tailored to your specific vehicle. To join, visit www.gm.com/recall, and enter your vehicle’s 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN), shown on the enclosed customer reply form.

Federal regulation requires that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.

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

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