2002 Saturn S-Series Sedans

All Saturn Retailers and Authorized Service Providers

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 if 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 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 letter, customers are told how to contact the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if the recall is not completed within a reasonable time.

Saturn has decided that certain 2002 model year S-Series Sedan vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 210 and 214, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages and Side Impact Protection. These vehicles were manufactured with welds in the Left Body "B" pillar between the door striker and belt-line that do not meet Saturn's specifications. If the seat belt anchorage on the pillar failed in a crash, the driver could be injured more seriously. In a side impact, occupants could be injured more seriously because of greater intrusion or reduced performance of the optional side curtain air bag.

To repair the pillar, Retailers will install 6 structural fasteners to the driver side "B" pillar assembly flange.

Saturn bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer." They are written to inform these 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 your Saturn Retailer for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.

Copyright © 2002 Saturn Corporation U.S.A. All Right Reserved.

Exceed Customer Expectations

Only Selected 2002 model year Saturn S-Series Sedans within the following VIN range will require this campaign.

2Z202733-2Z204195

A VIN listing of the vehicles involved is included in this bulletin for your reference.

You must verify campaign involvement through your AS400 system. It is important to note that campaign claims will only be paid on involved vehicles.

Owners of all involved vehicles will be notified of this campaign by Saturn. (Refer to the owner letter included in this bulletin.)

All unsold vehicles in Retailers' possession and subject to this campaign must be held at the retail facility and repaired per the service procedure of this campaign bulletin before owners take possession of these vehicles.

Retailers 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 vehicle inventory are to be contacted by the Retailer and arrangements made to make the required correction according to the procedure contained in this bulletin.

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

Saturn vehicles that have been sold by you, which may be closer in proximity to another Saturn Retailer, may still appear on your Facility VIN Listing. If either you or the vehicle owner determines that it is more desirable for a vehicle on your Facility VIN Listing to be serviced by another Saturn Retailer, or if the customer's address has recently changed, campaign responsibility may be transferred by completing the following:

A copy of the Campaign Vehicle Action Report is included for your reference. Additional copies can be ordered from Saturn publications (1-800-828-2112, prompt 3, item #S0397050). All changes to campaign responsibility will be reflected in your next Unfixed VIN Report.

All other changes in vehicle status (e.g., scrapped, stolen, etc.) are to be made in accordance with section 4.4.3 of the Retailer Service Reference Guide, "Notifying Saturn of Vehicle Status Change."

A pre-shipment of structural fasteners required to perform this campaign has been automatically sent to Retailers from Saturn free of charge. These initial parts shipments are to aid the Retailers in campaign preparation and will ensure minimal customer inconvenience.

Should additional parts be required, please contact Saturn Technical Assistance Center (TAC) at 1-800-828-2112, prompt 1; Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. CST; Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. CST.

* The structural fasteners should only be used for this campaign. They will not be offered as a service part in the future.

** Kent Products Telemarketing 1-800-654-6333 USA, 1-800-663-2800 Canada

*** 3M® Corporation 1-877-666-2277

As you know, Saturn's success hinges upon our ability to execute superior customer support throughout the ownership experience, especially when important corrective actions such as this are required.

It is imperative that every effort is made to accommodate the affected owners. Additionally, priority should be given to customer vehicles over retail inventory vehicles. If you have any questions, please coordinate with the Saturn Customer Assistance Center to help ensure customer satisfaction.

1. Turn the key off and remove it from the ignition.



2. From within the driver door opening locate the ">" marking stamped into the B-pillar, ahead of the rear door upper hinge.



3. Measure from the ">" marking upward 177 mm (7 in) and make a mark with a grease pencil. Refer to the illustrations above.
4. Gain access to the pinch-weld flange from the grease pencil mark to below the driver door striker by removing the driver door primary weatherstrip (on body) from the flange.
5. Locate the six pinch-weld locations from the level of the grease pencil mark downward tot he level of the driver door striker. the welds in question are evenly spaced and approximately 64 mm (2.5 in) apart.

Notice: The welds above the top-most weld in question are spaced at approximately 25 mm (1 in) apart. Be careful to locate the six welds spaced at approximately 64 mm (2.5 in).




6. Install the rubber drill stop (provided) onto a #21 or 4 mm (5/32 in) drill bit with the larger end toward the drill chuck.

Caution: Use protective eye glasses at all times.

Notice: The rubber drill stop is provided to help protect the flange from damage as the drill passes through the flange. If a drill motor with a large chuck is being used, ensure that the outer diameter of the chuck does not damage the paint within the door opening.

7. Carefully drill out the six spot welds identified above.
8. Using a shop vacuum remove all metal shavings created from drilling the holes. It may also be necessary to use a magnet to remove some small shavings.




Notice: Before performing step 9, be prepared to perform step 10 in order to install structural fasteners before the applied sealer skins over.

9. Using Kent Industries HIGH TECH Seam sealer (black) P/N 10070 or equivalent, apply sealer to the drilled holes on the outside of the flange.



10. Install six structural fasteners (provided) into drilled holes. Ensure the head of the fastener is flush with the sheet metal and completely seated before compressing.



11. Using 3M® WINDO-WELD™ Butyl Primer (black) P/N 08643 or equivalent, completely coat the outside of the installed six fasteners. Allow enough time for the primer to skin over.
12. Once primer is skinned over, reinstall the removed portion of the primary weatherstrip (on body). Start at the bottom and install weatherstrip making sure weatherstrip flap is tucked under the "B" pillar trim panel (lower and upper).
13. Remove the grease pencil mark made in step 3 above. Inspect weatherstrip, trim panel, and door opening for proper installation and any traces of excess sealer and remove as necessary.

Important: Do not cover any existing underhood labels when affixing Campaign Completion Label.

14. Affix Campaign Completion Label on a clean and dry surface of radiator core support, in an area clearly visible when hood is raised. For more information, refer to Campaign Completion Label.

Upon completion of the campaign, a Campaign Completion Label and a Clear Protective Cover should be affixed on a clean, dry surface of the radiator core support in an area clearly visible when the hood is raised. Each label provides a space to print in ink (or type) the campaign number (02C05) and the 5 digit facility code of the Retailer performing the campaign service.

As a reminder, additional labels may be ordered from Saturn publications (1-800-828-2112, prompt 3, Item #S03 00013A for the Campaign Completion Label, and item #S03 00013B for the Clear Protective Cover).

1. To receive credit for installing structural fasteners, submit a claim with the information below:

Important: Installation of structural fasteners require the sue of Kent Industries HIGH TECH Seam Sealer (black) P/N 10070 or equivalent and 3M® WINDO-WELD™ Butyl Primer (black) P/N 08643 or equivalent. Claims received in the amount of Retailer cost plus 40 percent parts allowance will be accepted for the material required to perform the repair. It will be necessary to sell these parts to the CSO as "Material", using net item code "M". Claims exceeding the amount of $0.50 (cost $0.36 x 1.4 part allowance) will be returned with reason 143-Material amount greater than maximum allowed.

To receive credit for loaner/rental car costs incurred while owner awaits campaign repair or other goodwill expenses, submit a claim with the information below:

3. Retailers are empowered to use good judgement regarding loaner/rental cars or any other goodwill expenses deemed necessary. It will not be necessary to call the Saturn Customer Assistance Center for authorization of goodwill. the Goodwill Worksheet, printed towards the back of this bulletin, must be used to document goodwill expenses. The completed Goodwill Worksheet must be attached to the hard copy of the CSO. Retailers are to make sufficient copies of the blank Goodwill Worksheet to document goodwill expenses.

4. Check your Saturn SERVICELINE.XL Claim Memorandum daily. Remember to code the claim as a WC sale type, and VC case type. Contact your field representative if you need assistance.

5. All labor operations claimed in this bulletin must be submitted on individual (unrelated) CSO lines. Refer to the Customer Service Order Preparation Manual for details on Product Campaign Claim Submission.

* Structural fasteners are not to be sold to the CSO as they are shipped to the Retailer at no charge.

** Campaign administrative allowance

*** Net amount must be submitted as a miscellaneous sale. Loaner reimbursement not to exceed $30/day.

**** Enter number of days vehicle was rented. Not to exceed 1 day.

As stated in the Credit section of this bulletin, Retailers are empowered to use good judgement regarding loaner/rental cars or other goodwill expenses that might become necessary for customer satisfaction.

Complete this worksheet and attach it to the hard copy of the Customer Service Order (CSO) to document all campaign goodwill claims submitted to Saturn.

VIN #

Dear Saturn Owner:

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

Saturn has decided that certain 2002 model year S-Series Sedan vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle safety Standards 210 and 214, seat belt assembly anchorages and side impact protection. These vehicles were manufactured with welds in the Left Body "B" pillar between the door striker and belt-line that do not meet Saturn's specifications. If the seat belt anchorage on the pillar failed in a crash, the driver could be injured more seriously. In a side impact, occupants could be injured more seriously because of greater intrusion or reduced performance of the optional side curtain air bag.

To prevent the possibility of this occurring, your Saturn Retailer will install six structural fasteners to the driver side "B" pillar assembly flange. It will take approximately 30 minutes to make the repairs, although some additional time may be required for paperwork and processing.

Contact your Saturn Retailer to arrange to have this service performed.

Your Retailer is prepared to perform this service promptly and with minimal inconvenience to you. Should your Retailer be unable to schedule a service date within a reasonable time, please contact the Saturn Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-553-6000 prompt 3, or for the hearing impaired, 1-800-833-6000. We will assist you and the Retailer in getting your car serviced.

If, after contacting your Saturn Retailer and the Saturn Customer Assistance Center, you are still not satisfied 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 St., SW, Washington, DC 20590, or call 1-800-424-9393 (Washing , DC residents use 202-366-0123).

Again, we sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern this situation may cause you. We want you to know that we will do our best, throughout your ownership experience, to ensure that your Saturn provides you many miles of enjoyable driving.

Sincerely,

Saturn Corporation

02-C-05

A Subsidiary of General Motors