NHTSA Complaint #10141492 — 1997 CHEVROLET S10

I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM GM STATING THERE WAS A SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR ON MY 1997 CHEVROLET S10 PICKUP. THE LETTER STATED THIS WAS NOT A RECALL AND THAT THE PART SHOULD BE REPLACED ONCE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM AFTER THE EXPIRATION DATE ON THE LETTER. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP TO SEE IF THEY COULD HELP ME. I WAS INFORMED THAT THEY COULD NOT. THEY ADVISED THAT I SHOULD CONTACT GM. I CALLED GM ON MONDAY OCT 24, 2005 AND SPOKE TO JEFF KENLY AND WILL BLECHEL, BOTH OF WHICH WERE VERY RUDE AND UNCOOPERATIVE WITH ME. I ASKED ABOUT THE EXPIRATION DATE ON THE LETTER, AND HOW THAT DATE WAS CHOSEN AND WILL TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS A DECISION MADE BY GM AND THAT HE DID NOT HAVE TO REVEAL THAT INFORMATION TO ME. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW A DATE CAN BE PUT ON A KNOWN DEFECT IN THE VEHICLE. MONDAY MORNING, I WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY DOING 65 MPH IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WHEN MY WIPERS DECIDED TO STOP WORKING. THE RAIN WAS COMING DOWN PRETTY HARD AND IT WAS STILL DARK OUT. ALL OF A SUDDEN I COULDN'T SEE, I SLAMMED ON THE BREAKS AND TRIED TO GET OFF THE ROAD, I CAME VERY CLOSE TO CAUSING AN ACCIDENT WHICH COULD HAVE INJURED ME OR SOMEONE ELSE. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THIS ON THE INTERNET AND LET ME JUST SAY; IT WAS NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL TO FIND ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I FOUND DOCUMENTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH GM VEHICLES. SOME HAVE HAD RECALLS WHILE OTHERS HAVE NOT. I DON''T UNDERSTAND HOW CAN THEY RECALL SOME, BUT NOT THE OTHERS? I UNDERSTAND THAT ON JULY 22, 2004 GM WAS FINED $1 MILLION TO SETTLE CHARGES THAT IT FAILED TO CONDUCT A TIMELY RECALL TO CORRECT A SAFETY DEFECT. THE PROBLEM INVOLVED WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE IN 581,344 TRAILBLAZERS, BRAVADAS, ENVOYS AND ISUZU ASCENDERS MANUFACTURED IN 2002 AND 2003. I JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THIS IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM THAN YOU MAY BE AWARE OF. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO FURTHER. *NM