Buick Exterior Lighting: Turn Signal

Buick is recalling about 286,478 vehicles over a problem with the exterior lighting. The driver may not be able to clearly signal their intentions to turn, change travel lanes, or potentially warn others of an impaired vehicle operating condition increasing the risk of a crash.

Campaign
05V198000
Manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Reported
5 May 2005
Vehicles
286,478
Built between
Apr 2003 – Nov 2003
Models
5
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
4 August 2005
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 2003 and November 2003. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2004 Buick RainierBuilt April 2003 to November 2003
  • 2003-2004 Chevrolet TrailblazerBuilt April 2003 to November 2003
  • 2003-2004 GMC EnvoyBuilt April 2003 to November 2003
  • 2003-2004 Isuzu AscenderBuilt April 2003 to November 2003
  • 2003-2004 Oldsmobile BravadaBuilt April 2003 to November 2003

What the defect is

On certain trucks and sport utility vehicles, the driver wishing to signal a turn by moving the directional signal lever, (up or down) may cause the front marker/turn lights and rear turn lights to flash in a manner similar to hazard warning, rather than flashing on the desired side only.

What could happen

The driver may not be able to clearly signal their intentions to turn, change travel lanes, or potentially warn others of an impaired vehicle operating condition increasing the risk of a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SUSPECT FLASHER MODULES WITH A NEW FLASHER MODULE DESIGNED WITH SEALED RELAYS AND MORE DURABLE CONTACT MATERIAL INSIDE OF THE RELAYS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 4, 2005. ISUZU BEGAN MAILING OWNER LETTERS ON AUGUST 4, 2005.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 2003 to November 2003
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA5 May 2005
  3. Owners notified4 August 2005

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 5 May 2005.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, isuzu at 1-800-255-6727, buick at 1-866-608-8080, and oldsmobile at 1-800-630-6537.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
05044
Recalling manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

GM recall no. 05044.CUSTOMERS may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand