- Vehicles
- 291,652
- Built between
- May 1999 – Apr 2004
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 17 October 2005
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between May 1999 and April 2004. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2003 Saturn L200Built February 2002 to June 2003
- 2004 Saturn L300Built March 2003 to April 2004
- 2000-2002 Saturn LSBuilt May 1999 to June 2002
What the defect is
On certain sedans and wagons, the plastic housing in the rear tail lamp assembly can become distorted if the brake lamps remain on for an extended time.
What could happen
This can cause (1) an intermittently inoperative brake/tail lamp bulb or (2) a short circuit that opens a fuse causing inoperative brake lamps (including the center high-mounted stop lamp) or tail lamps. A following driver may not know when the brakes have been applied, and a rear-end crash could occur without prior warning.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL TWO NEW TAIL LAMP REINFORCING SOCKET ADAPTERS AND SOCKETS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 17, 2005.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtMay 1999 to April 2004
- Recall reported to NHTSA2 June 2005
- Owners notified17 October 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 2 June 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 saturn at 1-800-972-8876.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- 05052
- 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. 05052.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.