General Motors of Canada Limited has determined that certain 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Minivans and Pontiac Trans Sport fail to conform to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208, "Seat Belt Installations." These vehicles are equipped with rear seats which may be installed in the 2nd row center seating position. When occupying a seat in this position a lap-only seat belt is worn. The retractor for this lap-only seat belt is missing a pawl spring and as a result may fail to lock-up. In the event of an accident, excess webbing could unwind from the retractor and injury to the seat occupant could result.
This condition may occur only in the following seats when they are used in the center seating position:
* For vehicles with six (6) passenger seat, the affected seat is the one which was placed in the 3rd row left position when the vehicle was delivered.
* For vehicles with seven (7) passenger seating , the affected seat is the one which was placed in the 2nd row center position when the vehicle was delivered.
To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring and in order to comply with CMVSS 208, dealers are to inspect the suspect retractor assemblies in all involved vehicles and replace those which are missing the pawl spring.
Involved are certain 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Minivan and Pontiac Trans Sport motor vehicles built within the following VIN breakpoints:
Plant Year Model Plant Code From Through ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1994 Chev U-Van Tarrytown T RT101718 RT103694 1994 Pontiac U-Van Tarrytown T RT201414 RT203412
All affected vehicles have been identified by the VIN listing provided to involved dealers with this bulletin. Any dealer not receiving a listing was not shipped any of the affected vehicles.
All unsold new vehicles in dealer's possession and subject to this campaign MUST be held and inspected/repaired per the Service Procedure of this Campaign Bulletin before owners take possession of these vehicles.
Dealers are to perform this campaign on all involved vehicles at no charge to owners, regardless of kilometers traveled, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward.
Owners of vehicles recently sold from your new vehicle inventory with no owner information indicated on the dealer listing, are to be contacted by the dealer, and arrangements made to make the required correction according to instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such owners a copy of the owner letter accompanying this bulletin. Campaign follow- up cards should not be used for this purpose, since the owner may not as yet have received the notification letter.
In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign is taken into your new or used vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership 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.
Refer to Section 4 of the Service Policies and Procedures Manual for the detailed procedure on handling Product Campaigns. Dealers are requested to complete the campaign on all transfers as soon as possible.
All owners of record at the time of campaign release are shown on the attached computer listing and have been notified by first class mail from General Motors (see copy of owner letter included with this bulletin). The listings provided are for campaign activity only and should not be used for any other purpose.
ONLY VEHICLES BUILT WITH MEDIUM GRAY AND MEDIUM BLUE REAR SEAT LAP BELT ASSEMBLIES ARE AFFECTED IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
Parts required to complete this campaign should be ordered through regular channels, as follows:
Part Number Description Quantity/Vehicle ----------- ----------- --------------- 12516349 Rear Seat Lap Belt Retractor Assembly 1 - Medium Gray 12512907 Rear Seat Lap Belt Retractor Assembly 1 - Medium Blue
Credit for the campaign work performed will be paid upon receipt of a properly completed campaign claim card or DCS transmission in accordance with the following:
Repair Code Description Time Allowance ----------- ----------- -------------- 1A Inspect Retractor - No Replacement .3 2A Inspect and Replace Retractor - Medium Gray .4 3A Inspect and Replace Retractor - Medium Blue .4
Time allowance includes 0.1 hour for dealer administrative detail associated with this campaign. Parts credit will be based on dealer net plus 40% to cover parts handling.
For vehicles with 7 passenger seating, the suspect seat is the 2nd row center seat
SEE FIGURE BELOW FOR SUSPECT SEAT LOCATION.
It is also necessary to assure that the suspect seat has not been moved to another location. Suspect seats will have a label at the lower right-hand comer of the seat back which reads "CENTER OR LEFT." If the label reads other than "CENTER OR LEFT," the seat has been installed in another position. Locate the correct seat for inspection by checking the remaining seats for die "CENTER OR LEFT" label.
1. While seated in suspect seat, fasten lap belt in normal manner.
2. Grasp retractor seat belt webbing and attempt to pull out additional webbing from retractor by sharply tugging on belt webbing.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 three (3) times, buckling and unbuckling belt each time.
4. If additional webbing can be extracted from retractor during any of the three attempts, replace retractor assembly with a new retractor assembly (steps 5 - 10).
If additional webbing cannot be extracted from retractor during any of the three attempts, no further action is required. Proceed to step 12.
5. Remove affected seat from vehicle.
6. Remove retaining screw and seat side cover.
7. Remove retaining bolt and seat belt retractor.
8. Install new retractor with retaining bolt. Torque bolt to 42 N.m (31 lb. ft.).
9. Install seat side cover and secure with retaining screw.
10. Reinstall seat.
11. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to assure that retractor operates correctly and make any corrections as required.
12. Install Campaign Identification Label.
Clean surface of radiator upper mounting panel and apply a Campaign Identification Label. Make sure the correct campaign number is inserted on the label. This will indicate that the campaign has been completed.
Dear General Motors Customer.
General Motors of Canada Limited has determined that certain 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Minivans and Pontiac Trans Sport fail to conform to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208, "Seat Belt Installations." These vehicles, are equipped with rear seats which may be installed in the 2nd row center seating position. When occupying a seat in this position a lap-only seat belt is worn. The retractor for this lap-only seat belt is missing a pawl spring and as a result may fail to lock-up. In the event of an accident, excess webbing could unwind from the retractor and injury to the seat occupant could result.
This condition may occur only in the following seats when they are used in the center seating position:
* For vehicles-With six (6) passenger seating, the affected seat is the one which was placed in the 3rd row left position when the vehicle was delivered.
* For vehicles with seven (7) passenger seating, the affected seat is the one which was placed in the 2nd row center position when the vehicle was delivered.
To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring and in order to comply with CMVSS 208, your dealer will inspect the suspect retractor in your vehicle and replace the retractor if it is missing the pawl spring.
This service will be provided for you at no charge.
Please contact your GM dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date.
If parts are required, ask your dealer for details regarding their availability. If parts are not in stock, they can be ordered before scheduling your service date.
This letter identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this letter to your dealer will assist their Service personnel in completing the necessary correction to your vehicle in the shortest possible time.
We are sorry to cause you this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your continued satisfaction with our products.
Customer Support Department General Motors of Canada Limited
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.