- Vehicles
- 125,990
- Built between
- Apr 1996 – Mar 1998
- Models
- 2
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 18 August 1998
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between April 1996 and March 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1997-1998 Chevrolet VentureBuilt April 1996 to March 1998
- 1997-1998 Oldsmobile SilhouetteBuilt April 1996 to March 1998
What the defect is
Vehicle description: passenger mini vans equipped with bucket seats or a split bench seat in the second (middle) or third (back) row. The seat latch mechanisms on bucket seats and on the 40% portion of the split bench seat in the second and third rows do not have protective covers.
What could happen
When activating the release mechanism to roll a bucket seat forward, a customer's finger(s) could be severely injured or severed in they are not kept clear of the mechanism.
What gets fixed
DEALERS WILL INSTALL PROTECTIVE COVERS ON THE OUTBOARD LATCH MECHANISMS ON ALL LEFT AND RIGHT HAND REAR BUCKET SEATS IN THE SECOND AND THIRD ROW, AND TO BOTH INBOARD AND OUTBOARD LATCH MECHANISMS ON THE CENTER REAR BUCKET SEAT AND THE 40% PORTION OF THE SPLIT BENCH SEAT.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtApril 1996 to March 1998
- Recall reported to NHTSA26 June 1998
- Owners notified18 August 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 June 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
- 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
Owner notification began during august 1998.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 chevrolet at 1-800-222-1022 or oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537. Also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4326).
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.