NHTSA Complaint #10069616 — 2000 CHEVROLET VENTURE

STARTING AT ABOUT 25-30,000 MILES, I HAD TO REPLACE SEVERAL STOPLIGHT BULBS (LEFT SIDE ONLY) ON MY 2000 VENTURE VAN. TWO OR THREE SEEMED TO GO IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT THE LAST ONE I PUT IN LASTED UNTIL RECENTLY - ABOUT 75,000 MILES. OVERALL, THERE HAVE BEEN ABOUT 6 BULBS REPLACED. A COUPLE OF TIMES I LOOKED AND THE FILAMENT WAS INTACT, BUT THE BASE OF THE BULB SEEMED BLACKENED SO I REPLACED IT ANYWAY. IN CHECKING ONE DAY IN MAY OR JUNE, I NOTICED THAT BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT (WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN TOUCHED) WERE OUT. THE BULBS WERE STILL GOOD, BUT THE BASES (RECEPTACLES) IN BOTH HOUSINGS WERE MELTED SO THAT I COULD NOT EVEN GET THE RIGHT ONE BACK IN. A MECHANIC FRIEND (NOT CHEVROLET) SAID HE HAD SEEN THAT HAPPEN A COUPLE OF TIMES IN VENTURES. MY LOCAL DEALER SAID IT WOULD COST $70+ TO EVEN LOOK AT IT AND THAT THEY WEREN'T AWARE OF ANY RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I THEN CALLED A GM COMPLAINT NUMBER MY DEALER GAVE ME, EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM, AND SHE CALLED THE DEALER. THE DEALER THEN CHECKED THE LIGHTS WITHOUT CHARGE AND TOLD ME THAT - YES INDEED - THE BASES WERE BURNED JUST LIKE I SAID BUT THEY COULD NOT TELL ME WHY! AFTER EXAMINATION OF THE SITUATION: (1) YES...I DO KNOW HOW TO PLUG IN A NEW BULB (2) I USED GOOD QUALITY REPLACEMENTS (3) THE RIGHT ONE WAS FACTORY-INSTALLED AND HAD NEVER BEEN TOUCHED SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE NEW (4) THERE IS NO TRACE OF WATER LEAKAGE IN EITHER LIGHT ASSEMBLY (5) I'M A CAREFUL 60-YEAR-OLD DRIVER THAT DOESN'T RIDE OR VIOLENTLY PUMP THE BRAKE PEDAL (NO GUARANTEES, THOUGH, IN ANOTHER 25 YEARS!) (6) THE BULBS WERE NOT BURNED OUT BUT THE BULB HOLDERS (THE BASE IN THE HOUSING THE BULB PLUGS INTO) THEMSELVES WERE TOAST (THE LEFT ONE WE CAN WEDGE THE BULB WHERE IT CAN WORK) (7) I'VE HEARD OF A FEW INSTANCES WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED TO VENTURE VANS (8) ON A FEW OCCASIONS MY WIFE AND I HAVE NOTICED OTHER VENTURE VANS WITH A STOPLIGHT OUT. SHOULDN'T THERE BE A RECALL IF THIS IS MORE THAN JUST AN ISOLATED CASE?