2007 GMC
YUKON XL 1500Problems & recalls

The investigated concern involved chrome plating on interior door handles that could peel or separate from the plastic base material.This de-lamination could result in a sharp edge and pose a risk of laceration.In some cases, consumers reported minor hand/skin lacerations.Of these reported injuries, the vast majority of injuries were to adults.Ninety percent of claims associated with interior door handle de-lamination were related to the front doors.In addition to the above Tahoe/Yukon vehicles, other GMT 900 series C/K vehicles (Avalanche, Escalade, Sierra, Silverado, and Suburban) have a trim level that utilizes the chrome plated interior door handles and were included in the analysis.The resultant population group had a total of 746 complaint reports with 309 injury incidents and 43,619 unique VIN regular warranty claims over a combined 451,745 vehicle population.The door handle supplier was changed in September 2006 with new tooling and process in place by October 2006.The base population prior to the September 2006 vendor change accounted for the bulk (or 89%) of all complaints and comparable injury reports and warranty claims.Due to the nature of the failure (thin chrome plating peeling off the door handle), only minor hand/skin laceration injuries similar to a paper cut were recorded.All but a few did not require professional medical treatment such as surgical or liquid sutures (i.e. stitches).Less than 10% of injury reports had specifically involved a 3-10 year old child.This was due to the fact that 90% of the claims were associated with door handles located in the front seating area (where the window glass panels usually have less solar tinting than rear window glass panels) where children are not normally seated. In July 2010, GM issued a Special Coverage Policy (SCP 09239) on the base vehicles to extend the warranty coverage to 10 years/100k miles.Recent data indicate that the base population complaint and injury reporting have subsided since the implementation of the SCP campaign.In June 2011, GM added the remaining interim population (Sep-Oct 2006) to the SCP.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

Recorded closure: Jul 18, 2011

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE SUBJECT VEHICLES OF THIS INVESTIGATION COMPRISE OVER THREE-QUARTERS OF THE RECALL POPULATION. ACCORDING TO GM, A SHORT CIRCUIT ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID HEATER MODULE MAY OVERHEAT THE CONTROL-CIRCUIT GROUND WIRE. THIS MAY CAUSE OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO MALFUNCTION, CREATE AN ODOR OR CAUSE SMOKE AND IN RARE CASES IT MAY CAUSE A FIRE.AS A REMEDY, GM DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRE HARNESS WITH AN IN-LINE FUSE. IN ADDITION TO THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, SEVERAL OTHER GM MODELS WITH THE HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION ARE INCLUDED IN RECALL 08V-441: MY 2006-2008 BUICK LUCERNE (MANUFACTURED AUGUST 2005 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2007); MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE (MANUFACTURED FEBRUARY 2007 THROUGH APRIL 2007); MY 2006-2008 CADILLAC DTS (MANUFACTURED MAY 2007 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2007); MY 2007-2008 SATURN OUTLOOK (MANUFACTURED AUGUST 2006 THROUGH APRIL 2007); AND MY 2007-2008 GMC ACADIA (MANUFACTURED AUGUST 2006 THROUGH APRIL 2007) VEHICLES.GM IS INSTRUCTING OWNERS TO TAKE THEIR VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR SERVICE IF THEY EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS OF WINDSHIELD WASHER HEATER MODULE SHORT CIRCUITS. GM'S RECALL RESOLVES THE SAFETY DEFECT CONCERNS PURSUED BY THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED.

Recorded closure: Sep 8, 2008

Campaign reference in the source: 08V441000

IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER SENT BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION(ODI) DURING PRELIMINARY EVALUATION PE08-010, GM PROVIDED ODI WITH 41 ALLEGATIONS OF NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES INCLUDING 16 ALLEGATIONS OF FIRES ORIGINATING WITH THE IGNITION IN THE OFF POSITION.ONE OF THE FIRES WAS DETERMINED TO BE CAUSED BY AN ARSON EVENT.ODI HAS ALSO RECEIVED 5 REPORTS, 4 OF WHICH ARE OF DUPLICATIVE OF REPORTS PROVIDED BY GM, ALLEGING NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.IN TOTAL, ODI IS AWARE OF 41 NON-CRASHENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES THAT ARE UNRELATED TO ARSON.EIGHT OF THE 41 FIRE ALLEGATIONS ALSO ALLEGE PROPERTY DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF THE FIRES.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA08-010) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY, ORIGIN AND CAUSE OF THE ALLEGED NON-CRASH RELATED ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.

Recorded closure: Jun 12, 2008