NHTSA Complaint #11100908 — 2016 BUICK ENVISION

GM USES A SEPARATE CONTROL ARM BUSHING CONNECTOR FOR VARIOUS MODELS SUCH AS BUICK ENVISION. THIS CONNECTOR IS A DEFECTIVE DESIGN! THE CONTROL ARM BUSHING CONNECTOR MUST USE A RIGID ONE-PIECE STRUCTURE THAT IS SUBJECTED TO VERY LARGE FORCES AND THEREFORE MUST BE OF A RIGID, HIGH STRENGTH AND TOUGH STRUCTURE.THE GM'S SPLIT-TYPE CONTROL ARM BUSHING CONNECTOR CONSISTS OF TWO BOLTS INSERTED INTO A HOLLOW BUSHING, AND THE CONNECTOR AND THE OUTER BUSHING ARE VULCANIZED TO FORM THE CONTROL ARM BUSHING ASSEMBLY.THE CONTROL ARM ARM CONNECTOR HAS A CIRCULAR BLOCK THRUST DESIGN ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT ENDS.THE SLEEVE OF THE CONTROL ARM BUSH PRESS-FIT INTO THE CONTROL ARM CONSTITUTES A CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLY STRUCTURE.THIS DESIGN WAS BORN AROUND 2013, AND IT WAS USED BY GM IN 2014 FOR A VARIETY OF PRODUCTION MODELS.THE PROBLEM WITH THIS STRUCTURE IS THAT WHEN A LARGE LOAD IMPACT IS APPLIED TO THE WHEEL, THE CONTROL ARM BUSHING WILL RECEIVE LONGITUDINAL AND LATERAL FORCES, AND THE INNER SLEEVE OF THE CONNECTOR PART MAY BE SQUEEZED UNDER THE BOLTS AT BOTH ENDS. PLASTIC DEFORMATION CAUSES THE CONNECTOR TO FAIL.ACCORDING TO PROFESSIONAL DATA, THE ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF THE CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLY SHOULD REACH ABOUT 80000N, AND THE STRENGTH OF THE CONTROL ARM BUSHING CONNECTOR IS HIGHER. HOWEVER, THE STRENGTH OF THE SEPARATE CONTROL ARM BUSHING CONNECTOR IS LESS THAN 40,000N WILL FAIL.THE STRUCTURE ADOPTED ON BUICK ENVISION, WHERE HUNDREDS OF CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS FAIL IN CHINA, WAS ALSO EXPORTED TO THE UNITED STATES.ACCORDING TO STATISTICS, THERE ARE SEVERAL MODELS IN THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE ADOPTED THIS UNSAFE DESIGN ONE AFTER ANOTHER! INCLUDING LACROSSE, CHEVROLET MALIBU, ETC.THESE MODELS ARE NEW AFTER 2015.ACCORDING TO THE CASE STUDY, THE STRENGTH OF THE GM CONTROL ARM IS LOWER THAN THE NORMAL RANGE, WHICH HAS A GREAT IMPACT ON SAFE DRIVING AND ENDANGERS DRIVING SAFETY! *TT *TR