NHTSA Complaint #719453 — 1994 CHEVROLET IMPALA

COMPONENT 1 - EXHAUST MANIFOLD THE BOLTS THAT SECURE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD BREAK FROM THE HEAT CYCLING ONF THE MANIFOLD. THE SOLUTION IS TO REPLACE THEM WITH STRONGER BOLTS THAT WERE SUPPLIED BY GM. THE ISSUE HERE IS THAT THERE IS AN EXTREME DANGER OF EXHAUST GASES LEAKING INTO THE VEHICLE BECAUSE OF POOR FITTING MANIFOLDS. A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION AND PRESENTLY NOT COVERED BY GM WARRANTIES. COMPONENT 2 - STEERING WHEEL HORN. THIS HORN HAS A NICKNAME OF THE "SLEDGEHAMMER HORN" SINCE IT TAKES CONSIDERABLE FORCE TO SOUND THE HORN. ONCE AGAIN, GM RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM AND HAS A NEW HORN ASSEMBLY TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS DOES NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM FOR CURRENT OWNERS, UNLESS AT CONSIDERABLE EXPENSE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION SINCE DEPRESSING THE HORN SWITCH MAY NOT SOUND THE HORN QUICK ENOUGH, IF AT ALL, IN CAS OF AN EMERGENCY. IT SIMPLY TAKES TOO LONG TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE HORN IS NOT SOUNDED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. COMPONENT 3 - AUXILLIARY POWER STUD. THERE IS A POWER STUD UNDER THE HOOD THAT ACTS AS A DISTRIBUTION POINT FOR MUCH OF THE POWER REQUIREMENTS. THE COMPOSITION OF THE THIS STUD WAS AN ALLOY THAT DID NOT STAND UP WELL UNDER USAGE, AND AS IT HEATED UP, THE SUPPORT ASSEMBLY BECOMES DEFORMED. IN THE PROCESS, ALL POWER IS LOST, AND IN SOME DOCUMENTED CASES, FIRES HAVE STARTED. IN MY PARTICULAR CASE, I LOST ALL POWER WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN THE RAIN. I WAS VERY LUCKY TO HAVE SURVIVED WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS INJURY. ONCE AGAIN, GM HAS A SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM. THEY NOW USE A STUD WHOSE MATERIAL CONTENT IS BRASS. IT IS QUITE SECURE AND CAUSES NOT FURTHER PROBLEMS. ONCE AGAIN --- A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONDITION RECOGNIZED BY GM. IN ALL OF THESE CASES GM RECOGNIZED THE PROBLEM AS SERIOUS, DEVELOPED A SOLUTION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, BUT FAILED TO MOVE TO A RECALL LEVEL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE OBVIOUS SAFETY HAZARD.