Saturn Electrical System

Saturn is recalling about 264 vehicles over a problem with the electrical system. During charging a short circuit could occur.

Campaign
97V042000
Manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Reported
20 March 1997
Vehicles
264
Built between
Aug 1996 – Jan 1997
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
18 March 1997
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between August 1996 and January 1997. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1997 Saturn EV1Built August 1996 to January 1997

What the defect is

Vehicle description: electric vehicles. These vehicles were built with a drive motor charger receptacle assembly that was incompletely sealed. Incomplete sealing can allow water to intrude into the circuit board.

What could happen

During charging a short circuit could occur. An arc at the short circuit can generate enough heat to create smoke and/or a flame. If a flame occurs, a fire could result.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DRIVE MOTOR BATTERY CHARGER RECEPTACLE ASSEMBLY AND REPLACE IT, IF NECESSARY.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtAugust 1996 to January 1997
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA20 March 1997
  3. Owners notified18 March 1997

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 20 March 1997.

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.

Official source

Recalling manufacturer
GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
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

Owner notification:owner notification began late march 1997.NOTE:OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact saturn at 1-888-382-7747 (1-888-EV-ASSIST).ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

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