Investigations
TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLE BREAKAGE
NHTSA Recall Query RQ04010 - closed, opened 2004-09-28.
NHTSA investigation RQ04010 is a Recall Query opened on 2004-09-28 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2005-04-14 - NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
A Recall Query like RQ04010 evaluates whether a previously issued recall is actually fixing the problem. NHTSA opens an RQ when owners continue to report the original defect after the recall remedy is installed, or when completion rates fall short of the agency's expectations for that risk tier.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "ODI IS UPGRADING RQ04-010 AND OPENING AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES INSTALLED IN 1998, 1999, AND PARTIAL YEAR 2000 SILVERADOS AND SIERRAS (C/K MODELS). GENERAL MOTORS IS CONDU..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
ODI IS UPGRADING RQ04-010 AND OPENING AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES INSTALLED IN 1998, 1999, AND PARTIAL YEAR 2000 SILVERADOS AND SIERRAS (C/K MODELS). GENERAL MOTORS IS CONDUCTING RECALL CAMPAIGN 04V-129 TO REPLACE THE TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES ORIGINALLY INSTALLED IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2000 - 2004 SIERRAS AND SILVERADOS. GENERAL MOTORS HAS ADVISED ODI THAT THE MATERIALS USED FOR THE TAILGATE CABLE SHEATHING INSTALLED IN C/K MODELS HAD INADVERTENTLY CHANGED IN OCTOBER 1999, INCREASING THE PROPENSITY FOR VOIDS IN AND AROUND THE GALVANIZED STEEL CABLE STRANDS WHICH CAN ALLOW MOISTURE TO WICK AMONG THE STRANDS, LEADING TO OXIDATION AND WEAKENING OF THE STRANDS. SINCE ODI INITIATED RQ04-010 IN SEPTEMBER 2004, ODI HAS RECEIVED 10 ADDITONAL NON-INJURY COMPLAINTS ON MY 1998-99 C/K VEHICLES, BUT NO ADDITIONAL INJURY COMPLAINTS. DURING THIS SAME PERIOD, GM HAS RECEIVED 564 NON-INJURY AND 35 INJURY COMPLAINTS. ODI HAS RECEIVED 6 INJURY COMPLAINTS AND 38 NON-INJURY COMPLAINTS FROM OWNERS OF MODEL YEAR 2000 C/K VEHICLES AND REQUIRES FURTHER INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN VEHICLES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF CAMPAIGN 04V-129 OR SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE INJURY SUMMARY FOR RQ04-010.
About This Investigation Type
A Recall Query (RQ) evaluates the effectiveness of a previously issued recall. NHTSA opens an RQ when consumer complaints suggest that a recall remedy may not be adequately addressing the safety issue, or when the recall completion rate appears insufficient.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. about how PlainCars sources NHTSA data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.