CAMPAIGN: TRANSMISSION CONTROL LINKAGE RETAINER
MODELS: 1989 M-VAN WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (MD8)
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 adequately repair within 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 appointments with owners and to repair their vehicles as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copy of the letter which is being sent to owners, the owner is being instructed to contact the nearest GMC Zone Office if the dealer does not remedy the condition within five days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
DEFECT INVOLVED
General Motors has determined that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 1989 M-Vans. These vehicles may have a loose retainer securing the automatic transmission control rod linkage to the steering column lower shift lever. This looseness may allow the retainer to disengage, resulting in a separation of the control rod from the lower shift lever. When this occurs, the shift indicator may not reflect the gear the transmission is in. In this situation, the driver could believe the transmission is in a forward gear when actually it is in reverse, or vice versa. Additionally, the engine could be started with the transmission in gear.
Either of these conditions could lead to a vehicle crash without prior warning.
To correct this condition, it will be necessary to install a new transmission linkage retainer on all involved vehicles.
VEHICLES INVOLVED
Involved are certain 1989 M-Vans with automatic transmission (MD8) built within the following VIN breakpoints:
MODEL YEAR MODEL FROM THROUGH ----- ----- ---- ------ 1989 M-Van KB521096 KB521342
The specific vehicles involved in this campaign have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number Computer Listings. These listings are furnished to all involved dealers with the campaign bulletin.
DEALER CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY
Dealers are to service all vehicles subject to this campaign at no charge to owners, regardless of milage, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward. Dealers are to correct all affected vehicles in new and used vehicle stock prior to their sale.
Whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign is taken into your new or used vehicle inventory, or it is in your dealership for service in the future, you should take the steps necessary to ensure the campaign correction has been made before reselling or releasing the vehicle.
Owners of vehicles recently sold from your new vehicle inventory are to be contacted by the dealer and arrangements made to make the required cor- rection according to instructions contained in this bulletin.
If no owner's name and address were available to GMC Truck Division at the time of campaign initiation, the dealer will determine the owner's name and address from the dealership sales records. Please provide this information directly on the second copy of the listing next to the applicable VIN so that our records may be updated and the appropriate notification mailed to the owner. This second copy should then be submitted to the address listed below in the previously supplied yellow campaign envelopes.
GMC Truck Division General Motors Corporation 101 Union Street Plymouth, Michigan 48170
OWNER NOTIFICATION
Owners will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by GMC Truck Division (see copy of owner letter included with this bulletin). A listing of owner names and addresses has been furnished to the involved dealers to enable dealers to follow up with owners involved in this campaign. This listing may contain owner names and addresses obtained from State Motor Vehicle Registration records. The use of such motor vehide 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 this campaign.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
1. Apply parking brake.
2. With engine off, place the gear selector in the Drive 1 position.
3. Open hood.
4. Disconnect negative battery cable.
5. Remove retaining clip (245) with a small screwdriver or needle nose pliers and discard.
6. Replace with new retaining clip making sure that the washer and retaining clip (245) are installed as shown in the illustration.
PARTS INFORMATION
A sufficient quantity of retainers will be preshipped to involved dealers to cover the number of vehicles on their lists. The parts will be supplied at no charge to the dealer/
PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION QUANTITY ------ ----------- -------- 15553615 Retainer 1 Per Vehide
If additional parts are required, they may be obtained by contacting Adistra Corporation, (313) 455-9072. Do not order from General Motors Service Parts Operation (GMSPO).
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Dealers should submit an accurately filled out Warranty Repair Order on each vehicle completed under this campaign.
LABOR OPERATION *TIME TROUBLE NUMBER DESCRIPTION ALLOWANCE CODE ------ ----------- ---------- ---- V5330 Install retainer 0.2 Hr 96
* For dealer to receive Administrative Time Allowance associated with this campaign, add 0.1 hour to the Labor Operation Time Allowance.
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 five (5) digit dealer code of the dealer performing the campaign service. This information may be inserted with a typewriter or 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.
Apply "Campaign Identification Label" only on a clean, dry surface.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE
Procedures covering this campaign are outlined in Section V of your dealership's "GM Truck Claims Processing Manual" #P 8819.
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.
