Consumer Complaint Detail

OLDSMOBILE / SILHOUETTE / 1997

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 002089551 Incident Date: Mar, 05 2002
Consumer's City: PORT HURON Consumer's State: MI
Vehicle Transmission Type: Manufacturers Name: General Motors, LLC
Model Name: SILHOUETTE Model Year: 1997
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Exterior lighting:headlights
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 1GHDX03E3VD Date added to File: May, 16 2021
Date Complaint Received: Mar, 05 2002 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Jan, 31 1998
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: The headlight assembly is supposed to be a "sealed" unit so as to protect the headlight bulb. on my olds van both the left & the right protective covers fell off in about 40 hrs of each other. at first i didn't think of it as a safety problem, and just went ahead and tried to order just the headlight covers. in calling around to several auto parts stores i found that this is a vey common defect in the gm mini-vans. in fact the parts person that i called at carl thompson chevrolet in fort gratiot ,mi, told me that the same thing happened to his "98 venture van. he also told me that i could not just order the protective cover for my headlights, i must orfer the entire headlight assembly at $91.00 each plus tx and installation. i doubt i could install the light assembly so, i'm looking at $100 or $150 or more to install them for a total of at least $300 to $400. i called the 800 number at oldsmobile and filed a complaint. they called me back in 15 min or so and told me there's nothing they could do for me, and that if i didn't like the $91. ea for the headlights that perhaps i should look in junk yards for headlights. well, they are missing the picture here, as i feel this is a serious safety defect. i hate to think what would have happened if i weere traveling at 70 miles per hour on a highway late at night when the "sealed covers" fell off leaving my bulbs exposed to all the road hazards. had i lost my lights at a high speed there could have been a serious accident, perhaps injuries and death at that speed. i'm sure gm is not interested in correcting the defect as the headlight assembly at $91. per light is a very profitable sale. the glue that was used to "permanently seal" these headlights is "defective" and a mfg recall should be issued to insure the safety of those who own the vans and the general public who ride the highways exposed to this potentially deadly defect. i hope gm doesn't wait untill someone dies before the take action on this issue. thank you.