- Vehicles
- 73,000
- Built between
- Aug 1997 – Jan 1998
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Equipment
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 29 January 1998
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1997 and January 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- Wells UDS418Built August 1997 to January 1998
- Wells UDS419Built August 1997 to January 1998
What the defect is
Equipment description: headlight beam control dimmer switches. The dimmer switch can fail prematurely during actuation.
What could happen
It is possible that the headlights will stay in the low or high beam state or fail to stay lit. It is also possible for an electrical short to develop inside the switch and damage the instrument panel wiring harness.
What gets fixed
OWNERS SHOULD RETURN THE HEADLIGHT DIMMER SWITCH TO THE DISTRIBUTOR FROM WHOM THEY WERE PURCHASED AND EXCHANGE THEM FOR ANOTHER SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1997 to January 1998
- Recall reported to NHTSA26 January 1998
- Owners notified29 January 1998
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 26 January 1998.
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
- WELLS MFG. 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 began january 29, 1998.OWNERS who take the switch to their distributor and are unable to obtain a replacement switch should contact wells manufacturing at 1-800-558-9770.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
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.