MAJOR DESIGN FLAWS IN THE ECM MODULE ENCLOSURE AND LOCATION OF ECM IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT CAUSE PREMATURE AND CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. PERMANENT DAMAGE TO WIRING HARNESS ALSO OCCURS DUE TO WATER INTRUSION COMPLICATED BY ROAD SALT CONTAMINATION OF HARNESS CONNECTORS AND WIRING. ELECTRONIC PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS IN THE ECM BECOME EXPOSED TO ROAD SPRAY AND WHICH ALLOWS WATER TO POOL WITHIN THE ECM MODULE'S CASING. AFTER EVAPORATING, THIS WATER WILL LEAVE BEHIND THE ROAD SALTS THAT WERE IN SOLUTION CAUSING A BUILDUP OF SAME UNTILL UNIT FAILS. THESE CONDITIONS WILL BE FOUND ON NUMEROUS VEHICLES IN FREEZING/THAWING CYCLIC REGIONS. RECENTLY GM ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT ACKNOWLEGES THIS PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOES NOT EFFECTIVLY REACH OUT TO THE OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLE WHO MAY HAVE TOTAL ENGINE CONTROL FAILURE OCCUR UNDER THE WORST OF WEATHER CONDITIONS THEREBY CREATING A REAL COLLISION SAFETY HAZARD. *AK
1999 Chevrolet G Van
Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Electrical System › Ignition › Module | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Air Bags | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsTIMES THE BRAKES DO NOT WORK, THE VAN HAS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR THIS PROBLEM AND NOW ON 10/24/2002 THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT. DT
VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONT END COLLISION, THE AIRBAGS EXPERIENCED NO DEPLOYMENT, THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WAS ON, DEALER FOUND THE MODULE TO BE DAMAGED. *SLC
3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.