Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TAILGATE - LATCH | ||||||
| EA05008 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 04/14/2005 | 05/19/2006 | TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES | ||
| General motors is conducting a special policy program for 903,464 owners of 2000 - 2003 model s/t vehicles through which owners may, at their option, either (1) periodically inspect the tailgate support cables installed in their vehicle and have the cables replaced if the cable coating exhibits any indications of damage or deterioration or (2) request that the tailgate support cables be replaced free of charge. gm will honor all requests by owners who opt for replacement without question regardless of the condition or appearance of the cables. gm has agreed to mail reminder notifications to owners every two years until the tailgate support cables have been replaced or until the vehicle is 12 years old.odi's investigation indicates that a significant majority of the reported complaints (87%) and injuries (94%) have occurred in my 2000 - 2003 s/t vehicles. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 08/10/2004 | 65000 | 02/14/2000 | |
| Tailgate cables on my 2000 chevy s10 have rusted through and broken. i have purchased new cables, but the repair requires replacing the entire latch. even the parts people at the dealership were disgusted by this. although there is a recall on some of the full sized gm trucks, the manufacturer does not seem concerned about their smaller truck customers. from what i've seen on the internet, this does not seem like an isolated case. | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 06/16/2005 | 73096 | 3 | 02/09/2005 |
| Tailgate straps broke when opening tailgate causing damage to tailgate when it hit bumper also drive side recliner lever broke and third door latch broke. *jb | |||
| 02/06/2006 | 5 | 05/20/2003 | |
| The handles on both sides of the seat broke very shortly after we purchased the vehicle. also the third door handle has been replaced by us already and is broken again, also the third door bracket at the top my husband had to weld because we could not find one this bracket broke and the door flew open while he was driving. the spring in the hinge door broke off and now the drivers side door is not opening properly. we have had problems with this ever since we bought it. *nm | |||
| 09/01/2002 | 28000 | 2 | 10/20/2000 |
| Chevrolet s10- #1 both seat reclining latches have broken off (cheap pot metal used in latch). dealer laughed saying that he has had many reports about this but it is not a manufacturer's defect, but it will cost us $70 for each mechanism plus hundreds of dollars in labor cost. i have noted many other complaints on your website regarding this. #2 third door latch broken, also noted other complaints on your website about this.*ak | |||
| 01/13/2002 | 1 | 03/01/2000 | |
| Driver side door hangs when opened, as a result of the 2 bottom pins that hold the hinge. *ak the consumer states that the door is designed poorly. consumer has retrofitted with e-clips that does a much safer job. also, the door latch mechanism falls apart. *scc | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TAILGATE - LATCH | |||
| 06/17/2005 | 107000 | 2 | 03/04/2000 |
| Tailgate support cables on 2000 chevy s-10 broke while sitting on tailgate. i only weigh 180 lbs and they both broke. | |||
| 02/12/2005 | 2 | 08/09/2003 | |
| 1. moving a television, placed into bed of chevy s10 pickup. 2. tailgate support cables (both sides) snapped, rusted through appx middle of cables. person resting on tailgate fell off end of truck. slight denting of tailgate as it fell past horizontal and pressed into bumper. 3. spoke with local dealership. they indicated other trucks on recall, not s10. have purchased new set of cable assemblies (left and right side, can not replace just cable, as they are integrated on the latch). have digital photos to show failed cables. have old parts. am trying to figure out how to remove latch bar to remove cable assemblies from tailgate at this time (3-12-05). *ak | |||
| 12/30/2004 | 30000 | 1 | |
| Consumer complained about a tailgate problem. the cables that hold the tailgate in the down position snapped. consumer contacted the manufacturer, and was informed that there was no recall for this defect. also, consumer provided the vin for confirmation, but again was told that it did not apply to the vehicle in question. *ak | |||
| 11/13/2004 | 38419 | 2 | |
| I own a 2000 s-10 chevrolet pickup with around 39,000 miles. both tailgate straps snapped simultaneously as i crossed a field with the tailgate in the open position. this is not a company vehicle where the tailgate is operated everyday. i do not allow heavy loads on the tailgate itself like loading or unloading an atv. it appears to me that there is a definite design flaw in this cabling. when the tailgate is closed, the coated, stranded copper wire that makes up the cable is folded back against itself. any opening and closing causes normal, bending metal fatigue. in looking at my failed cables, it is apparent that all of the strands except for approximately ten, had failed prior to the final cable failure. thankfully, no one was injured on my truck's cable failure; however, it is not uncommon for people to carry others working afield on the tailgate. also, trucks are used quite often for loading materials or equipment that applies some load to this area. either of these could result in someone's death or injury and i have found instances of both on-line. there is currently a recall on some of gm's larger trucks, but not all. additionally, i have talked with my dealership and a gm representative and have been informed that the recall has not been extended to chevy's smaller trucks. this item needs some attention before someone else is injured or killed!!*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TRUNK LID - LOCK | |||
| 10/10/2002 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2000 s-10 pickup . the tailgate cables broke first on the driver side. before it was replaced the passenger side snapped when the tailgate was stepped on while loading/unloading. luckily without causing any personal injury.*ak | |||