Buick Visibility: Electrical Heating Element

Buick is recalling about 10,179 vehicles over a problem with the visibility. If this condition affects the defrost system when it is required, it may decrease the driver's visibility, and could result in a crash.

Campaign
11V149000
Manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Reported
4 March 2011
Vehicles
10,179
Built between
Dec 2010 – Feb 2011
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
11 March 2011
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between December 2010 and February 2011. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011 Buick LacrosseBuilt February 2011 to February 2011
  • 2011 Cadillac SRXBuilt December 2010 to February 2011

What the defect is

General motors is recalling certain model year 2011 buick lacrosse and cadillac srx vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 103, "windshield defrosting and defogging systems". On these vehicles, the software in the electronic climate control (ecc) module may disable the ability to adjust the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system settings. If this happens, the driver will not be able to control the heating, cooling, and ventilation for the vehicle.

What could happen

If this condition affects the defrost system when it is required, it may decrease the driver's visibility, and could result in a crash.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE ECC MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 11, 2011.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtDecember 2010 to February 2011
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA4 March 2011
  3. Owners notified11 March 2011

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 4 March 2011.

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 buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
11057
Recalling manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Safety standard
FMVSS 103
Recall initiated by
MFR

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

General motors safety recall no. 11057.OWNERS 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 <a href=http://www.safercar.gov>http://www.safercar.gov</a> .

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