NHTSA Complaint #707904 — 1990 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS

THE DIGITAL DASHBOARD IN THIS CAR FAILS INTERMITTANTLY. SOMETIMES IT FAILS ON STARTUP, AND SOMETIMES WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING. UPON FAILURE THE DASHOARD IS BLACK, WITH NO WAY TO DETERMINE THE SPEED OF THIS AUTOMOBILE. SOMETIMES THE FAILURE LASTS FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND SOMTIMES FOR HOURS. ON ONE TRIP I HAD NO SPEEDOMETER FOR 4 HOURS. I BELIEVE THAT FHE FAILURE OF THE SPEEDOMETER IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I WAS INFORMED BY AN EMPLOYEE OF THE LOCAL GENERAL MOTORS DEALER THAT FAILURE OF DIGITAL DASHOARDS IN GM CARS HAPPENS OFTEN AND IS EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR. I WAS GIVEN A FIGURE OF APPROXIMATELY $650.00 TO REPAIR MY DASHBOARD, WHICH WOULD REQUIRE THAT IT BE SENT TO THE FACTORY AND FHAT I WOULD NOT HAVE THE USE OF MY CAR FOR 2 TO 6 WEEKS. SINCE THE SPEEDOMETER IS A COMPONENT OF THE DIGITAL DASHBOARD, AND CERTAINLY RELATED TO VEHICLE SAFETY, I BELIEVE THAT GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS COST. IF NOT REQUIRED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FULL COST, GM SHOULD AT LEAST BE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COST OF THIS REPAIR. *AK