Defect Involved

General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 1985-91 M-Van, 1990-91 L-Van (with RPO A78) and 1989-91 R/V Suburban (with RPO A95) model vehicles equipped with bucket seats with knob type recliner mechanisms. These vehicles may exhibit a condition in which a front seat recliner bolt may fatigue and break. This could allow the seat back to suddenly recline. If this occurred to the driver's seat, it could lead to a sudden loss of vehicle control and a vehicle crash without prior warning.

The bolt fatigue results from high load inputs from the seat occupant when the joint between the recliner mechanism and the seat frame is loose. The recliner mechanism and the seat frame may have foam, cloth, or vinyl between them creating a "soft joint". This "soft joint" can result in lower than specified bolt torque and lead to joint looseness.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring, dealers are to remove the foam, cloth, or vinyl from between the recliner mechanism and the seat frame "soft joint" and replace the recliner bolts.