VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE HEATER CORE END CAP CAN FAIL DUE TO MATERIAL STRENGTH DETERIORATION OCCURRING OVER TIME WITH EXPOSURE TO HIGH TEMPERATURE ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM FLUID.
Safety risk
FAILURE WILL ALLOW THE DISCHARGE OF COOLING SYSTEM STEAM INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT, CAUSING REDUCED DRIVER VISIBILITY.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A COOLANT TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED HEATER CORE FLUID BYPASS VALVE.
COOLING SYSTEM PRESSURES DURING OVERHEATED ENGINE OPERATION MAY EXCEED THE STRENGTH CAPABILITY OF CERTAIN COMPONENTS DUE TO INADEQUATE VENTING CAPACITY OF THE SYSTEM PRESSURE CAP.
Safety risk
THE BUILDUP OF PRESSURE MAY CAUSE HEATER CORE TO RUPTUREAND DISCHARGE HOT COOLANT AND STEAM IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE DRIVERS LEGS.
Manufacturer remedy
REPLACE ALL COOLANT SYSTEM PRESSURE CAPS WITH ONE HAVING ADEQUATE VENTING CAPACITY.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
The 1989 model has about a third as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.
Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.