DUE TO A CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE OIL SEPARATOR PLATE AND THE DIFFERENTIAL HOUSING OF THE FRONT DIFFERENTIAL UNIT, OIL LEAKAGE AT THE AIR BREATHER PLUG CAN OCCUR, WHEN THE VEHICLE IS OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY ABOVE 75 MILES PER HOUR.
Safety risk
OIL LEAKAGE WILL RESULT IN A SUFFICIENTLY LOW OIL SUPPLY TO CAUSE BEARING DAMAGE TO THE FRONT DIFFERENTIAL UNIT LEADING TO EVENTUAL SEIZURE OF THE UNIT INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Manufacturer remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A MODIFIED AIR BREATHER PLUG TO PREVENT SUCH OIL LOSS.
Owner complaints
A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.
Component
Complaints
Median mileage
Vehicle speed control
4
140,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling
1
121,500 mi
Engine and engine cooling: engine
1
116,226 mi
Engine and engine cooling: engine: gasoline
1
—
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: emission control: catalytic convertor
1
—
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
1
—
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly
1
—
Seat belts: front: anchorage
1
—
Service brakes, hydraulic
1
200,000 mi
Unknown or other
1
—
The 1996 model has roughly the same number of complaints as this one. The 1998 model has 13 times 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.
