CAMPAIGN: SECONDARY HOOD LATCH ADJUSTMENT. Cadillac Concours 1996

For 1990-2009 cars

# CAMPAIGN: SECONDARY HOOD LATCH ADJUSTMENT

#### SUBJECT: SECONDARY HOOD LATCH ADJUSTMENT

MODEL: CERTAIN 1996 DEVILLES AND DEVILLE CONCOURS

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 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 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 solutions, 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 customer letter, if the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

#### CONDITION

General Motors has decided that certain 1996 model Cadillac DeVilles and DeVille Concours fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 113, "Hood Latch System." Some of these vehicles have been produced with an improperly adjusted secondary hood latch. As a result, the secondary hood latch may not engage the radiator support assembly as intended.

If the secondary hood latch is not properly engaged and the primary hood latch was also not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly. If this were to occur while the vehicle was in motion, the hood may contact the windshield, reducing the forward vision area of the driver, and a vehicle crash without prior warning could result.

To prevent the possibility of this condition from occurring, and in order to comply with FMVSS 113, dealers are to perform an adjustment to the secondary hood latch.

#### VEHICLES INVOLVED

Involved are certain 1996 model DeVilles and DeVille Concours built within the following VIN range:

From TU203427 Through and Including TU217234

#### Notice: 560 vehicles were corrected prior to shipment to dealers and are not included in this campaign. It is very important that dealers check their Dealer List and/or the Vehicle Information Service System (VISS) to confirm campaign involvement of all suspect vehicles.

#### DEALER LIST

A list of involved vehicles, which our records indicate were sold by or shipped to you, is enclosed with this bulletin. This list is in VIN sequence and contains customer names, addresses and telephone numbers obtained from Cadillac delivery records. This information will enable dealers to follow-up with customers whose vehicles are involved in this campaign and arrange for the correction to be performed as soon as possible. If no list is enclosed, none of the involved vehicles are known to be in your area at this time.

#### DEALER CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY

All unsold new vehicles in dealers' possession and subject to this campaign must be held and inspected/repaired per the service procedure of this campaign bulletin before customers take possession of these vehicles.

Dealers are to service all vehicles subject to this campaign at no charge to customers, regardless of mileage, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward.

Customers of vehicles recently sold from your vehicle inventory, are to be contacted by the dealer, and arrangements made to make the required correction according to the instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such customers a copy of the customer letter accompanying this bulletin. Campaign follow-up cards should not be used for this purpose, since the customer may not as yet have received the notification letter.

In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign enters your 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.

This bulletin is notice to you that the new motor vehicles included in this campaign may not comply with the standard identified above. Under section 108 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 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 campaign correction, your dealership may be subject to a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each such sale.

#### CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION

Customers will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by letter from Cadillac Motor Car Division. A copy of the customer letter is included with this bulletin.

#### COURTESY TRANSPORTATION

The availability of courtesy transportation to customers whose vehicles are involved in this campaign is of the utmost importance in maintaining customer satisfaction. Dealers are to take the steps necessary to ensure that these customers clearly understand that courtesy transportation is available and will be provided upon request at no charge. Dealers should submit such claims in the normal manner and appropriate credit will be issued.

#### PARTS INFORMATION

No parts are required to complete this campaign.

#### SERVICE PROCEDURE

#### Note: To help avoid possible injury, gloves should be worn while performing this procedure.

1 . Open hood to the secondary position by activating hood release handle inside the vehicle.

2. Grasp hood under the grill on both sides, being careful not to activate the secondary latch release handle (see illustration), and attempt to lift the hood upward firmly. Should the hood lift upward to the full open position, the secondary hood latch is not engaging and needs to be adjusted. Proceed to Step 3. If the hood remains engaged in the secondary hood latch position, there is sufficient engagement and further adjustment is not required. Proceed to Step 4.

3. Adjust the secondary hood latch by raising the hood to a comfortable level, grasp the hook portion of the latch (see illustration View A) and apply enough rearward force to bend the hood inner, moving the secondary hood latch hook approximately 3.Omm. Close the hood and perform Steps 1 and 2 again. Continue to perform this procedure until the hood remains engaged in the secondary latched position.

4. Install GM Campaign Identification Label.

#### GM CAMPAIGN IDENTIFICATION LABEL

Upon completion of this campaign, a GM Campaign Identification Label 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 space to print in ink or type campaign number 96-C-09 and your five-digit Cadillac dealer code. Dealers are to take the steps necessary to ensure that these numbers are recorded and the label is properly affixed along with it's clear protective plastic cover. Additional labels and plastic covers are available at no cost by calling VISPAC, Incorporated at 1-800-269-5100, Monday through Friday 8:00 A. M. to 4:30 P. M. Eastern Standard Time. Please refer to Item Number S-1015 when ordering.

#### CREDIT

Credit for this campaign will be issued upon receipt of a properly prepared warranty claim which includes the following information:

Inspect Secondary Hood Latch - No Adjustment Required

Failure Failed Part Parts Labor Labor Code Part No. Quant. Allow. Oper. Hrs. ------- -------- ------ ------ ------ -----

96 --- --- --- V9810 0.3*

This labor time represents the actual time required to perform the correction plus 0.1 additional hour for Campaign Administrative Allowance.

Inspect and Adjust Secondary Hood Latch

Failure Failed Part Parts Labor Labor Code Part No. Quant. Allow. Oper. Hrs. ------- -------- ------ ------ ------ -------

96 --- --- --- V9811 0.4*

This labor time represents the actual time required to perform the correction plus 0.1 additional hour for Campaign Administrative Allowance.

Dear Cadillac Customer:

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

General Motors has decided that certain 1996 model Cadillac DeVilles and DeVille Concours fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 113, "Hood Latch System." Some of these vehicles have been produced with an improperly adjusted secondary hood latch. As a result, the secondary hood latch may not engage the radiator support assembly as intended.

If the secondary hood latch is not properly engaged and the primary hood latch was also not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly. If this were to occur while the vehicle was in motion, the hood may contact the windshield, reducing the forward vision area of the driver, and a vehicle crash without prior warning could result.

To prevent the possibility of this condition from occurring, and in order to comply with FMVSS 113, your Cadillac dealer will adjust the secondary hood latch. Of course, this service will be performed at no cost to you.

The mailing of this letter has been coordinated to ensure that instructions for making this repair have been received by your dealer and that needed parts are available for your car. Please contact your Cadillac dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service appointment and courtesy transportation, if required. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much time is needed to perform this repair and process your vehicle.

The enclosed Campaign Owner Identification Card identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this card to your dealer will assist in making the necessary corrections in the shortest possible time. If you no longer own this vehicle, please let us know by completing this postage-paid reply card and returning it to us.

If you are not satisfied that we have done our best to correct this condition without charge and within a reasonable time, you may wish to write the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington D.C. 20590, or call 1-800-424- 9393 (Washington D.C. residents use 202-366-0123).

We are sorry to cause you any inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your continued safety and satisfaction with our products. If you have any questions, please contact your Cadillac dealer or call our Consumer Relations Center at 1-800-458-8006.

Cadillac Motor Car Division General Motors Corporation

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.