Finally, Saturn acknowledges a problem with tail lights on L-Series

Discussion in 'Saturn L-series' started by Oppie, Jun 6, 2005.

  1. Oppie

    Oppie Guest

    After all the talk in this forum about defective tail lights on the
    L-Series, Saturn will finally start a recall program... in September

    =================
    http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20050603-1023-saturn-recall.html
    By Ken Thomas
    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    10:23 a.m. June 3, 2005

    WASHINGTON - General Motors Corp. said Friday it would recall nearly 300,000
    Saturn L Series sedans and wagons because of problems with brake and tail
    lights.
    The problem could make it difficult for the driver of another vehicle to
    realize the Saturn's brakes were being applied and lead to a rear-end crash,
    the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

    GM, the world's largest automaker, said in some vehicles the plastic coating
    in the rear tail lamp assembly could become distorted if the brake light
    remains on for an extended period of time. It could make the brake or tail
    light inoperable or cause it to short circuit, leading to the failure of
    both brake lamps and the center, high-mounted stop lamp.

    The defect was found in certain 2000-2002 model years of the L-Series sedan
    and 2000-2004 model year L-Series wagon, potentially affecting 291,652
    vehicles.

    The L-Series went out of production in January.

    GM said there has been at least 50 complaints and two crashes - but no
    injuries - associated with the problem. The recall is expected to begin in
    September.

    In April, 22,000 of the L-Series wagons from the 2002-2004 model year were
    recalled because they were built with center and passenger side rear seat
    belt anchors that did not comply with U.S. and Canadian safety standards.

    The automaker has been battling sluggish sales, rising health care costs,
    higher gasoline prices and a loss of market share. GM said earlier this week
    it would cut third-quarter production by more than 100,000 vehicles, or 9
    percent.

    GM shares fell 45 cents to $30.79 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock
    Exchange.
     
    Oppie, Jun 6, 2005
    #1
  2. Oppie

    Art Guest

    I was just talking to a friend that was a long time GM owner but finally
    gave up after a Malibu disaster. One of the problems he mentioned in that
    car was the tail lights. I wonder if this recall will start stretch to
    other GM brands.
     
    Art, Jun 6, 2005
    #2
  3. Oppie

    snapperhead Guest

    The article indicates that the recall might focus on the lens when a major
    tail lamp issue exists with the circuit boards?
    I doubt that the lens will heat up very much if the lamps aren't burning?

    --
     
    snapperhead, Jun 7, 2005
    #3
  4. Oppie

    Oppie Guest

    My experience with it is that the electrical conductors are steel stampings
    that are heat sealed onto plastic pins molded into the plastic (abs)
    housing. There is not enough contact between the bulb carrier and the steel
    stampings. Contacts get hot when a sustained current flows and eventually
    causes the steel strips to soften the plastic anchor points. This makes the
    contact force even worse and eventually the connection fails.
    The design attempted to create a 'high current printed circuit board' but
    was flawed due to insufficient contact pressure and high contact resistance.
    Makes me wonder what the 'fix' will be. I doubt that Saturn will replace the
    tail lamp assemblies. More likely they will use some conductive grease on
    the contacts. Not great but do-able. The grease would exclude air,
    preventing contact oxidation, improve thermal transfer and lower contact
    resistance.

    Bob Oppenheimer
    Electrical Engineer and professional failure analyst
     
    Oppie, Jun 7, 2005
    #4
  5. Oppie

    marx404 Guest

    Man, I got alot of L customers that will be pissed. No doubt dealerships we
    will be doing some extra PR to make up for this "fopah". Thank goodness for
    warranties.

    marx404
     
    marx404, Jun 7, 2005
    #5
  6. Customers are happy, not pissed, when manufacturers admit a problem and
    offer to fix it for free. The dealers can score extra brownie points
    with some sort of freebie when the car comes in for the repair.
     
    scharf.steven, Jun 9, 2005
    #6
  7. Oppie

    Oppie Guest

    ....except that manufacturers usually come up with a cost-effective solution
    which is not always the 'right' solution. Then dealer shops are given a
    pittance of an allowance in time and money to perform each recall.
    Consequently, the dealers want to take their non-warranty (fully chargeable)
    customers first and leave warranty repairs for last. Getting something
    defective fixed under warranty or recall is nice but having to leave the car
    all day for a 10 minute job pisses me off. Least that's what happened with
    another car manufacturer. Could be that Saturn is (still?) a different kind
    of car company...
    Oppie
     
    Oppie, Jun 9, 2005
    #7
  8. Oppie

    danco Guest

    The last recall work that I had done on my Saturn should have taken
    them 30 minutes to perform. They took 30 minutes to perform it. This
    was on a Saturday afternoon too. Not bad...

    - Dan
     
    danco, Jul 14, 2005
    #8
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