2002 Saturn VUE Vehicles

The Highway 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 customer 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 remedies, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each customer and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copy of the owner letter, the owners are being instructed to contact the appropriate Customer Assistance Center if their Retailer is unable to schedule a service date within a reasonable time. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, owners are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Saturn has decided that certain 2002 model year VUE vehicles produced before December 12, 2001, fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages." Some vehicles were produced with rear occupant outer seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts that were incorrectly installed. If these bolts were incorrectly installed, they would not withstand the load requirements of FMVSS 210, and if one failed in a crash, a rear seat occupant would not be properly restrained and could have an increased risk of injury.

To prevent the possibility of this occurring, Saturn Retailers will replace the rear occupant outer seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts.

Only selected 2002 model year Saturn VUE vehicles within the following VIN range will require this campaign:

2S800454 - 2S801490

A VIN listing of the vehicles 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.)

A list of vehicles assigned to you (Facility VIN Listing ), which our records indicate were sold by or shipped to you, (or are located in close proximity to your facility) is enclosed.

This listing contains:

The Facility VIN Listing (with owner information) is furnished to involved Retailers with the Product Campaign Bulletin. Although these vehicles are assigned to your facility, it is important to note that owners may elect to have their vehicle serviced at the Saturn Retail Facility of their choice.

Those Retailers not involved initially in this campaign will receive a message at the top of a blank Facility VIN Listing that states: NO VEHICLES ASSIGNED AT THIS TIME FOR CAMPAIGN 02-C-04.

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 campaign may not comply with the standard previously identified. Under 49 U.S.C. section 30112 of the Highway Safety Act as amended, it is illegal for a retailer to sell a new motor vehicle which the retailer knows does not comply with an applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Standard. As a consequence, if you sell any of these motor vehicles without first performing the campaign correction, your retail facility may be subject to a civil penalty up to $1,100 for each such a 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 rear seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts and washers required to perform this campaign has been automatically sent to retailers from Saturn Service Parts Operations (SSPO). These initial parts shipments are to aid the Retailer in campaign preparation and 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. - 6:30 p.m. CST; Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. CST.

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

Retailers will scrap all replaced parts in a manner that ensures that they cannot be reused, remanufactured, or otherwise entered into the stream of commerce in the future.

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. Open the upper seat belt shoulder guide bolt cover, and remove the upper shoulder seat belt guide anchor bolt.



2. Remove the locking washer, the spacers, and the bolt from the upper seat belt shoulder guide anchor and discard.




Caution: Use protective eye glasses at all times.

3. Tap seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolt hole using a 12 mm x 1.75 tap. After the tap has been removed, use compressed air to blow chips out of the hole. Do NOT blow chips inside the vehicle.



4. Install the new seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolt and spaces to the shoulder belt anchor and secure with locking washer as show in the illustration.

Caution: Apply Loctite 242® Threadlocker or equivalent to all restraint fasteners prior to installation.

5. Apply Loctite 242® Threadlocker or equivalent to the seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolt.

Important: Make sure the shoulder belt is not twisted.

6. Install the seat belt shoulder guide anchor to the vehicle and tighten the seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolt to specification.

Tighten
Tighten the seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolt to 45 N·m (33 lb ft).

7. Close the upper shoulder belt bolt cover.
8. Repeat steps 1-7 for opposite side of the vehicle.

Important: If any difficulties arise in this procedure, contact Saturn Technical assistance Center (TAC) at 1-800-828-2112, prompt 1; Monday from 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. CST; Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. CST.

9. Check the rear outboard shoulder belt operation (both sides) to ensure that the belts is not twisted and that the belt functions as designed.

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

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

Upon completion of the campaign, a Campaign Identification 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 (02C04) and the five (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 replacing the left and right rear seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts, submit a claim with the information below:

Important: Installation of the rear seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts requires the use of Loctite 242® Threadlocker P/N 21485277 or equivalent. Claims received in the amount of Retailer cost plus 30% for this part will be accepted. It will be necessary to sell this part to the CSO as material, using net item code "M". Claims exceeding the cost equivalent of $0.18 per bolt will be returned with reason 064 - Parts Amount Excessive.

2. 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.

* Anchor bolts 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 VUE vehicles produced before December 12, 2001, fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages." Some vehicles were produced with rear occupant outer seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts that were incorrectly installed. If these bolts were incorrectly installed, they would not withstand the load requirements of FMVSS 210, and if one failed in a crash, a rear seat occupant would not be properly restrained and could have an increased risk of injury.

To ensure that the seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts are correctly installed, Saturn will replace the rear occupant outer seat belt shoulder guide anchor bolts. This service will be performed at no charge to you. It will take approximately thirty (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 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 1-800-424-9393 (Washington, 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-04