CAMPAIGN:FRONT SEAT BELT ANCHOR STRAPS. Geo Prizm 1994

For 1990-2009 cars

# CAMPAIGN:FRONT SEAT BELT ANCHOR STRAPS

#### Subject: PRODUCT SAFETY CAMPAIGN 94-C-52 - FRONT SEAT BELT ANCHOR STRAPS

#### Model and Year: 1994 GEO PRIZM

#### To: All Chevrolet/Geo Dealers

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 owner 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 solutions, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each owner and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copy of the letter that is being sent to owners, the owners are being instructed to contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center if their dealer does not remedy the condition within five (5) days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

#### DEFECT INVOLVED

General Motors has determined that certain 1994 Geo Prizm model vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies". These vehicles were assembled with front seat belt buckle anchor straps which may not have been properly heat treated. In the event of a vehicle crash, the seat belt buckle could separate from the anchor strap and injury to the seat occupant could occur.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring and in order to comply with FMVSS 209, dealers are to inspect the buckle assembly anchor straps and replace those with suspect date codes.

#### VEHICLES INVOLVED

Involved are certain 1994 Geo Prizm model vehicles built within the following VIN breakpoints:

PLANT YEAR MODEL PLANT CODE FROM THROUGH -------------------------------------------------------------- 1994 S-Car Fremont "Z" RZ020240 RZ076093

Involved vehicles have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number Computer Listings. Computer listings contain the complete Vehicle Identification Number, owner name and address data, and are furnished to involved dealers with the campaign bulletin. Owner name and address data furnished will enable dealers to follow-up with owners involved in this campaign.

These listings may contain owner names and addresses obtained from State Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any other purpose is a violation of law in several states. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to the follow-up necessary to complete this campaign. Any dealer not receiving a computer listing with the campaign bulletin has no involved vehicles currently assigned.

#### OWNER NOTIFICATION

Owners will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by Chevrolet Motor Division (see copy of owner letter included with this bulletin).

#### 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 owners take possession of these vehicles.

Dealers 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 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 the instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such owners a copy of the owners 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 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.

#### PARTS INFORMATION

Parts required to complete this campaign are to be obtained from General Motors Service Parts Operations (GMSPO) . To ensure these parts will be obtained as soon as possible, they should be ordered from GMSPO on a "C.I.O." order with no special instruction code, but on an advise code (2).

DUE TO LIMITED INITIAL PARTS AVAILABILITY DEALERS ARE ENCOURAGED NOT TO ORDER CAMPAIGN PARTS FOR USE AS SHELF STOCK. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 20% OF INVOLVED VEHICLES WILL REQUIRE BUCKLE REPLACEMENT Quantity/ Part Number Description Vehicle ----------- ----------- --------- 94854805 Right Front Buckle - Gray 1 94854806 Right Front Buckle - Blue 1 94854807 Left Front Buckle - Gray 1 94854809 Left Front Buckle - Blue 1

#### SERVICE PROCEDURE

#### INSPECTION PROCEDURE (BOTH FRONT SEATS)

1. Slide front seat to the most forward position.

2. Inspect buckle anchor strap for suspect date code 52733D 032 or 52733D 042 (See Figure 1, page 4) . Date code is located on bottom of buckle strap just above attaching bolt.

3. If a suspect date code is present, that buckle assembly must be replaced following appropriate replacement procedure (left and/or right hand) on pages 6 and 7.

If date code on buckle is not one of the suspect date codes noted in step 2, do not replace that buckle assembly.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for other front seat. If neither buckle assembly requires replacement, install campaign identification label and return vehicle to customer.

#### LEFT FRONT (DRIVER SEAT) BUCKLE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE

1. Disconnect seat belt buckle switch connector under seat.

2. Remove two (2) screws, and trunk/fuel lid opener control (See Figure 2, Page 4).

3. Remove seat track covers and seat track bolts (See Figure 2, Page 4) .

4. Remove inner shield screw and shield (Figure 3, Page 4).

5. Disconnect wire harness clamps from seat frame (See Figure 4, Page 4).

6. Remove bolt and seat belt buckle assembly (thread wire harness between seat back and cushion).

7. Install new seat belt buckle assembly (thread wire harness between seat back and seat cushion) and torque bolt to 43 Nm (32 lb. ft.) (See Figure 5, Page 5).

8. Connect wire harness clamps to seat frame.

9. Install seat inner shield and secure with screw (Figure 3, page 4).

10. Install seat in vehicle and torque seat track-to-floor bolts to 37 Nm (27 lb. ft.).

11. Install seat track covers.

12. Install trunk/fuel lid opener and secure with 2 screws.

13. Connect seat belt electrical switch connector under seat.

14. Turn ignition ON and check operation of warning light. With belt unfastened, the warning light should be on. With belt fastened, the warning light should be off.

15. If only left hand seat buckle assembly required replacement, install campaign identification label and return vehicle to customer.

#### RIGHT FRONT (PASSENGER SEAT) BUCKLE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE

1. Remove shifter bezel which is held on with locking tabs (See Figure 6, Page 5 - Use caution not to scratch surfaces while prying bezel off).

2. Remove five (5) console screws and pull rearward to remove box (See Figure 7, Page 5).

3. Remove front seat inner shield screw and shield (Figure 3, page 4).

4. Remove seat belt buckle bolt and buckle assembly.

5. Install new seat belt buckle assembly and torque bolt to 43 Nm (32 lb. ft.).

6. Install front seat inner shield and secure with screw.

7. Install console and secure with five (5) screws.

8. Install shifter bezel making sure all clips are secure.

9. Install Campaign Identification Label.

#### CAMPAIGN IDENTIFICATION LABEL

Each vehicle corrected in accordance with the instructions outlined in this Product Campaign Bulletin will require a "Campaign Identification Label". Each label provides a space to include the campaign number and the five (5) digit dealer code of the dealer performing the campaign service. This information may be inserted with a typewriter or a ball point pen.

Each "Campaign Identification Label" is to be located on the radiator core support in an area which will be visible when the vehicle is brought in for periodic servicing by the owner. Additional "Campaign Identification Labels" can be obtained from DAC.

Apply "Campaign Identification Label" only on a clean, dry surface.

#### CLAIM INFORMATION

Submit a Product Campaign Claim with the information indicated below: * FAILED PARTS LABOR LABOR OTHER REPAIR PERFORMED PC PART NO. ALLOW CC-FC OP HOURS HOURS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inspect, No Belts - - - - SK-00 V9140 0.2 0.1 Replaced Inspect, Replace 1 9485480 * * SK-00 V9141 0.4 0.1 Passenger Belt Inspect, Replace 1 4854807 * * SK-00 V9142 0.6 0.1 Drivers Belt Inspect, Replace 2 94854807 * * SK-00 V9143 0.9 0.1 Both Belts

* Campaign Administrative Allowance.

* * The "Parts Allowance" should be the sum total of the current GMSPO Dealer Net price plus (40%) of all parts required for the repair.

Dealers will automatically receive the correct labor and material allowance based on the labor operation performed.

Refer to the Chevrolet Claims Processing Manual for details on Product Campaign Claim Submission.

Dear Geo Prizm owner:

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

#### REASON FOR THIS RECALL

General Motors has determined that certain 1994 Geo Prizm model vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies". These vehicles were assembled with front seat belt buckle anchor straps which may not have been properly heat treated. In the event of a vehicle crash, the seat belt buckle could separate from the anchor strap and injury to the seat occupant could occur.

#### WHAT WE WILL DO

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring and in order to comply with FMVSS 209, dealers will inspect the buckle assembly anchor straps and replace those with suspect date codes. This service will be performed for you at no charge.

#### WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Please contact your Chevrolet dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date and so the dealer may order the necessary parts for the repair. Instructions for making this inspection/correction have been sent to your dealer and parts are available. The labor time necessary to perform this service correction is approximately 10 minutes to 1 hour. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed to schedule and process your vehicle.

Your Chevrolet dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide service to ensure that your vehicle is corrected as promptly as possible. If, however, you take your vehicle to your dealer on the agreed service date, and they do not remedy this condition on that date or within five (5) days, we recommend you contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center by calling 1-800-222-1020.

After contacting your dealer and the Customer Assistance Center, if 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, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 or call 1-800-424-9393 (Washington D.C. residents use 366-0123).

The enclosed owner reply card identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this card to your dealer will assist in making the necessary inspection/correction in the shortest possible time. If you have sold or traded your vehicle, please let us know by completing the postage paid reply card and returning it to us.

We are sorry to cause you this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

Chevrolet Motor 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.