General Motors Corp.: Power Train › Automatic Transmission
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Apr 26, 1999 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 99,333. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4T65E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FMVSS NO. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE." A RETAINING CLIP, WHICH SECURES THE MANUAL VALVE TO THE LINKAGE OF THE TRANSMISSION DETENT LEVER, CAN BECOME LOOSE UNDER A COMBINATION OF POSSIBLE DRIVER SHIFTING MANEUVERS AND ALLOW THE LINK TO BECOME DISCONNECTED FROM THE MANUAL VALVE.
The risk
IF THE LINK DISCONNECTS, THE DRIVER'S INDICATED PRNDL STATE MAY DIFFER FROM THE HYDRAULIC STATE OF THE TRANSMISSION. IF THE DRIVER SELECTS 'DRIVE' AND THE TRANSMISSION IS ACTUALLY IN 'REVERSE', A VEHICLE CRASH COULD OCCUR.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL VALVE/LINK ASSEMBLY WITH A REPLACEMENT MANUAL VALVE/LINK KIT, FEATURING A SPRING-TYPE FASTENER.
3 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Buick Lesabre | 209 | 2 | 20 | 19 |
| 1999 Oldsmobile 88 | 77 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 1999 Pontiac Bonneville | 143 | 4 | 9 | 5 |
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 99V089000.
Full record for the 1999 Buick Lesabre → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →