Product Safety - Aftermarket Leather Seat Cover Kits

The telephone number for contacting General Motors has been changed. To assist customers with initiating the vehicle repurchase process, dealers shold contact the GM Reacquired Vehicle Disclosure Center (RVDC) at 1-866-802-6625. With dealer assistance, the RVDC will work with the customer to reach an agreement on the purchase and physical transfer of the vehicle.

General Motors has decided that a defect that relates to motor vehicle safety exists in aftermarket front passenger leather cover kits that were installed at its request on certain vehicles with the Passenger Sensing System. Recently, testing on these seat covers indicated that they can cause the Passenger Sensing system to malfunction. If the Passenger Sensing System malfunctions, the front airbag on the passenger side may be disabled when it should be enabled, or enabled when it should be disabled. In either case, in the event of a crash that requires airbag deployment, a front passenger’s level of injury may be increased.

The airbag status indicator displays the status of the airbag. Whenever the front passenger seat is occupied, the driver should always check the airbag indicator to see if the airbag is on or off as explained in the owner manual. If it is not correct for the situation, the passenger should be moved to a different seat.

Because a replacement leather seat cover that is compatible with the Passenger Sensing System is not available, General Motors will repurchase the vehicle for the full price the customer paid for it (not exceeding the fair market value at the time the customer purchased it), including taxes and fees. If the vehicle is returned to General Motor's possession in a timely manner, there will be no deductions for mileage or use unless the vehicle has sustained substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear.

General Motors reserves the right to handle each transaxtion on a case-by-case basis relative to the application of a reasonable depreciation allowance for mileage or use and/or reduction in repurchase price if the vehicle has sustained substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear.

General Motors will also pay for the removal of any aftermarket accessories the customer may have installed before they were notified of this recall and return them to the customer. If they no longer have a use for those accessories or they cannot be removed, General Motors will reimburse the customer for the purchase price of those accessories.

The customer's local GM dealer will contact General Motors to begin the repurchase process. General Motors will work with the customer to reach an agreement on the purchase of the vehicle. Dealers will be asked by General Motors to assist in the removal of any aftermarket accessories, inspection of the vehicle, obtaining titles and other documentation required to transfer ownership to General Motors, presenting the customer with a check for the purchase, and taking possession of the vehicle. General Motors will arrange for transportation of the vehicle from the dealer.

If any of these vehicles are in the used car inventory of your dealership or were sold by you, or a customer brings in an involved vehicle for service, please contact the GM Reacquired Vehicle Disclosure Center (RVCD) at 1-866-802-6625.

Involved are certain 2005-2006 Buick LaCrosse, Rendezvous; 2004 Chevrolet Silverado; 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe; 2005-2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer EXT; 2006 Chevrolet HHR, Malibu; 2005 GMC Sierra; 2005-2006 GMC Envoy; 2006 GMC Envoy XL; 2006 HUMMER H3; 2005 Pontiac Montana; and 2006 Pontiac G6 vehicles equipped with aftermarket leather seat cover kits installed by GM’s request and built within these VIN breakpoints:

Important: Dealers are to confirm vehicle eligibility prior to beginning repairs by using GMVIS. Not all vehicles within the above breakpoints may be involved.

For dealers with involved vehicles, a listing with involved vehicles containing the complete vehicle identification number, customer name, and address information has been prepared and will be provided through the GMDealerWorld Recall Information system. Dealers will not have a report available if they have no involved vehicles currently assigned.

The listing may contain customer names and addresses obtained from Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any purpose other than follow-up necessary to complete this recall is a violation of law in several states/provinces/countries. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this report to the follow-up necessary to complete this recall.

No parts are required for this recall.

General Motors will work with the customer to reach an agreement on the purchase of the vehicle. Dealers will be asked by General Motors to assist in the removal of any aftermarket accessories, inspection of the vehicle, obtaining titles and other documentation required to transfer ownership to General Motors, presenting the customer with a check for the repurchase, and taking possession of the vehicle. General Motors will arrange for transportation of the vehicle from the dealer.

If any of the involved vehicles are in the used car inventory of your dealership or were recently sold by you or a customer brings in an involved vehicle for service, please contact the GM Reacquired Vehicle Disclosure Center (RVDC) at 1-866-802-6625.

Submit a Product Recall Claim with the information indicated below:

Refer to the General Motors WINS Claims Processing Manual for details on Product Recall Claim Submission.

General Motors will notify customers of this recall on their vehicle (see copy of customer letter included with this bulletin).

The customer will contact his/her local GM dealer to begin the repurchase process. General Motors will work with the customer to reach an agreement on the purchase of the vehicle. Dealers will be asked by General Motors to assist in the removal of any aftermarket accessories, inspection of the vehicle, obtaining titles and other documentation required to transfer ownership to General Motors, presenting the customer with a check for the purchase, and taking possession of the vehicle. General Motors will arrange for transportation of the vehicle from the dealer.

Whenever a vehicle subject to this recall enters your vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership for service in the future, you must contact the GM Reacquired Vehicle Disclosure Center (RVDC) at 1-866-802-6625.

Dear General Motors Customer:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

General Motors has decided that a defect that relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain vehicles originally built with cloth seats that were equipped with an automatic airbag passenger sensing system and later reupholstered with aftermarket leather seat cover kits. As a result, GM is conducting a safety recall. We apologize for this inconvenience. However, we have taken this action for your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

Why is your vehicle being recalled? Your vehicle was originally built with cloth seats. After the original lease/rental agreement on the vehicle had expired and the vehicle was returned to General Motors, the vehicle was reupholstered with aftermarket leather seat covers. Recently, testing indicated that the aftermarket leather seat covers can cause the Passenger Sensing System to malfunction. The Passenger Sensing System is a seat module that is individually calibrated and designed to turn the right front passenger’s frontal airbag off in these conditions:

If the Passenger Sensing System malfunctions, the front airbag on the passenger side may be disabled when it should be enabled, or enabled when it should be disabled. In either case, in the event of a crash that requires airbag deployment, a front passenger’s level of injury may be increased.

The airbag status indicator displays the status of the airbag. Whenever the front passenger seat is occupied, you should always check the airbag indicator to see if the airbag is on or off as explained above and in the owner manual. If it is not correct for the situation, you should move the person to a different seat.

What will we do? Because a replacement leather seat cover that is compatible with the Passenger Sensing System is not available, General Motors will purchase your vehicle for the full price you paid for it (not exceeding the fair market value at the time you bought it), including taxes and fees, if the vehicle is returned to General Motors’ possession in a timely manner, there will be no deductions for mileage or use unless the vehicle has sustained substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear.

General Motors reserves the right to handle each transaction on a case-by-case basis relative to the application of a reasonable depreciation allowance for mileage or use and/or reduction in repurchase price if the vehicle has sustained substantial damage beyond normal wear and tear.

General Motors will also pay for the removal of any aftermarket accessories that you may have installed before this notification and return them to you. If you no longer have a use for those accessories or they cannot be removed, General Motors will reimburse you for the purchase price of those accessories.

What should you do? To begin the process of repurchasing your vehicle, you should complete the enclosed form and contact your local General Motors dealer. The dealer will assist you with initiating the vehicle repurchase process by contacting the GM Reacquired Vehicle Disclosure Center (RVDC) on your behalf. The RVDC will work with you to reach an agreement on the purchase of the vehicle and the acquisition of a new or used replacement GM vehicle, if you desire.

After contacting General Motors, you should begin to gather together copies of the vehicle title, the original sales agreement for the vehicle, and the sales receipts for any aftermarket accessories you may have installed. This will help reduce the processing time.

Do you have questions? If you have questions or concerns, please contact your local General Motors dealer. More information about this recall can be found at the Owner Center at MyGMLink, http://www.gm.com/recall

If after contacting General Motors you are still not satisfied we have done our best to repurchase your vehicle within a reasonable time, you may wish to write the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington DC 20590, or call the toll-free Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1.888.327.4236 (TTY 1.800.424.9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

Federal regulation requires that any vehicle lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.

Scott Lawson

General Director,

Customer and Relationship Services

Enclosure

06102