General Motors Corp.: Interior Lighting
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Feb 17, 1998 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 249,420. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES WERE BUILT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR THE INTERIOR LAMPS TO COME ON UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE THE VEHICLES ARE BEING DRIVEN. THIS DOES NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 101, "CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS."
The risk
THE INTERIOR LAMPS COMING ON UNEXPECTEDLY COULD STARTLE A DRIVER CAUSING A MOMENTARY LOSS OF CONTROL INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL RUN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST ON THE LAMP CONTROL MODULE AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE IT.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Buick Skylark | 85 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 1996 Chevrolet Beretta | 72 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier | 503 | 13 | 10 | 58 |
| 1996 Oldsmobile Achieva | 87 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 1996 Pontiac Grand AM | 450 | 6 | 14 | 33 |
| 1996 Pontiac Sunfire | 201 | 10 | 11 | 30 |
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 98V027000.
Full record for the 1996 Buick Skylark → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →