Safety Recall N202308930 Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break – 2010-2013 Buick & Chevrolet

December 10, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V764000

Rear Toe Links May Fracture

A rear toe link fracture may reduce the driver’s ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V764

Manufacturer General Motors, LLC

Components SUSPENSION

Potential Number of Units Affected 213,128

 

Summary

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012-2013 Buick Regal, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2010-2013 Buick Lacrosse vehicles sold or ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris. Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.

 

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners were mailed an interim notification on January 27, 2021, and April 15, 2021. A third notification was mailed on August 19, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM’s number for this recall is N202308930.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

Check if your Vehicle has a Recall

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Safety Recall N202308930
Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break

These questions and answers are being provided to help GM dealers respond to inquiries from involved vehicle owners about the Safety recall identified above.

 

Q1) Which vehicles are involved?

Certain 2010 – 2013 Buick LaCrosse, 2012 – 2013 Buick Regal, and 2013 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles that were ever registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or Wisconsin (collectively, “Corrosion States”).

 

Q2) What is the issue or condition?

These vehicles may have rear toe links that received excessive electrocoating (e-coat) corrosion protection, which could cause the e-coat to become brittle and break away when contacted by road debris.  Over time, the e-coat may chip away, exposing the metal toe link and making it more susceptible to corrosion.  Corrosion may eventually cause the toe link to thin and ultimately to fracture.

 

Q3) What symptoms may be experienced?  What warning signs may be associated with the issue or condition described?

None

 

Q4) What is the remedy/repair?

Dealers will replace rear suspension toe links and adjuster fasteners.

 

Q5) What is the safety risk?  Is the vehicle safe to drive?

A rear toe link fracture may reduce the ability to control the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

 

Q6) Does the customer have to pay for this remedy/repair?

No, this inspection/repair will be done at no cost to the customer.

 

Q7) Is the remedy/repair available now?

No, when a remedy is available and sufficient quantity of parts are available, the recall bulletin will be released, and dealers can begin repairing vehicles.

 

Q8) What should customers do until recall repairs can be completed?  Are there any special instructions?

If special instructions are provided, they will be included in the notification letters to customers.

 

Q9) How can customers check to see if their vehicle is involved in this field action?

When we have a list of Vehicle Identification Numbers (“VIN list”) for the affected population, customers who own a vehicle involved in the field action will be notified by mail by General Motors.  As soon as we have the VIN list, customers can check the GM Owner Center at https://my.gm.com/recalls or NHTSA’s recall website at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/ to determine whether their vehicle is involved in this safety recall.

 

Q10) If customers are concerned, can they get a rental car or courtesy transportation?

Courtesy transportation is available for customers whose vehicles are involved in this recall and are within the warranty coverage period for the warranty which is associated with this recall.  Please refer to Warranty Administration Bulletin #17-NA-073:  Field Action Courtesy Transportation Policy for further information.

 

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March 25, 2021

 

Chronology of Defect / Noncompliance Determination

573.6 (c) (6) (7)

Describe the chronology of events leading up to the defect decision or test data for the noncompliance decision:

In June 2020, GM learned that Opel was investigating rear toe-link fractures on certain Opel Insignia vehicles, which use the same toe link design as the subject vehicles.  GM had previously investigated rear toe-link fractures on the subject vehicles in 2018 but closed the investigation due to a very low number of potential field complaints found (2), no accidents or injuries, and no identifiable defect trend.  Once Opel notified GM of their investigation, which was based in part on a recent toe-link failure in Europe, GM submitted the issue as a potential safety issue through GM’s Speak Up For Safety (SUFS) program on June 17, 2020.  On August 4, 2020, GM opened a new investigation into rear toe link fractures in the subject vehicles.

 

On August 20, 2020, GM learned of an additional toe link fracture on a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu with 261,762 miles that occurred on August 18, 2020.  On September 14, 2020, GM obtained the rear toe link from that August 18 incident and began a part analysis.  On September 15, 2020, GM’s investigator found documentation from cosmetic corrosion testing conducted in 2013 that identified a supplier process in which e-coat material was applied in excess of specifications.  The supplier subsequently fixed its e-coat process in March 2013.  On October 12, 2020, GM completed an initial review of field data and the overall rate of toe-link failures was still low.  On October 15, 2020, a third-party testing company, Element Materials Technology, completed its analysis of the returned toe link from the August 18 incident and confirmed that it fractured as the result of material thinning due to heavy corrosion.  GM’s investigator reviewed the investigation with the Open Investigation Review board on November 9, 2020, and the board requested further information on the toe-link failure rates in high corrosion states to determine if the rates were higher in those areas.  The toe-link failure-rate analysis in Corrosion States was completed and reviewed on November 30, 2020, and it showed a notably higher toe-link failure rate than in non-corrosion states.

 

On December 3, 2020, GM’s Safety and Field Action Decision Authority decided to conduct a safety recall for vehicles that were ever registered in Corrosion States and that may have received toe links with excessive e-coat material.  GM subsequently discovered the population data search inadvertently omitted some merchandising model codes.  On March 18, 2021 , it was determined that some VINs with these merchandising codes are in the regions affected by this recall.

 

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7 Affected Products

Vehicles

 

 

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19 Associated Documents

Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-20V764-5260.pdf 137.776KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) Dealer Notification re N202308930 – Safety Recall Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break Application for Used Vehicle Working Capital Assistance Program (WCAP)

RCMN-20V764-1117.pdf 104.609KB

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Safety Recall N202308930 Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break

RMISC-20V764-3258.pdf 103.557KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Dealer Notification re Upcoming Safety Recall N202308930

RCMN-20V764-5503.pdf 62.457KB

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V764-9158.PDF 214.751KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Chronology of Defect / Noncompliance Determination (Toe Link Corrosion)

RMISC-20V764-4632.pdf 152.259KB

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V764-3280.pdf 244.73KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Dealer Notification re Stop Delivery Order for Upcoming Safety Recall N202308930

RCMN-20V764-4691.pdf 66.541KB

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Recall 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V764-8947.PDF 214.827KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Safety Recall N202308930 Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break

RMISC-20V764-3728.pdf 103.557KB

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Recall 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V764-4787.PDF 214.827KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Chronology of Defect / Noncompliance Determination

RMISC-20V764-4295.pdf 151.978KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – Dealer Message re Stop Delivery Order – Expansion of Population Safety Recall N202308930

RCMN-20V764-6353.pdf 97.869KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Safety Recall N202308930 Rear Suspension Toe Link May Break

RMISC-20V764-8098.pdf 103.557KB

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ISSUED Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-20V764-0914.pdf 137.776KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Amendment 2

RMISC-20V764-9089.pdf 152.823KB

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Recall 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V764-1057.PDF 214.833KB

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ISSUED Interim Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RIONL-20V764-5710.pdf 137.776KB

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ISSUED Owner Notification Letter(Part 577)

RCONL-20V764-0683.pdf 82.86KB

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V764&docType=RCL

 

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