General Motors Corp.: Visibility › Defroster/Defogger/Hvac System
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Dec 23, 2009 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 59,031. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 CHEVROLET EQUINOX AND GMC TERRAIN VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 103, "WINDSHIELD DEFROSTING AND DEFOGGING SYSTEMS AND WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 101, CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS". THE SOFTWARE IN THE CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL CAN CAUSE THE HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING, DEFROST, AND RADIO CONTROLS, AS WELL AS THE PANEL ILLUMINATION TO BECOME INOPERATIVE.
The risk
DRIVING WITHOUT A FUNCTIONING DEFROST SYSTEM CAN DECREASE YOUR VISIBILITY UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS AND COULD RESULT IN A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE COMPUTER MODULE IN THE CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JANUARY 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
2 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Chevrolet Equinox | 784 | 3 | 9 | 15 |
| 2010 GMC Terrain | 290 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 09V489000.
Full record for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →