2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500

ONE OF THE TWO REAR PLASTIC WINDOW HINGES HAS SNAPPED. I FIRST NOTICED ON 10/11 AS I WAS ACCESSING THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE BY UNLATCHING THE WINDOW. I WENT ONLINE TO CHECK THE ISSUE AND NOW REALIZE THIS ISSUE IS WIDESPREAD, THAT GM IS AWARE OF IT, AND ACTUALLY RE-DESIGNED THE HINGES STARTING IN 2005. WHAT THEY HAVEN?T DONE (AS I KNOW IT) IS ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS OBVIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT. I'M WRITING TO ASK WHETHER THE NHTSA IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, AND IF IT AND/OR GM HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THIS DOES NOT WARRANT FURTHER ATTENTION. THE CONCERN IS IT?S EASY TO LATCH THE WINDOW IN PLACE, EVEN WITH 1 OF THE 2 HINGES BROKEN, AND THEREFORE DELAY OR SIMPLY IGNORE THE REPAIR NEED (AS THE REPAIR COST IS SIGNIFICANT), ASSUMING IT?S SAFE AS LONG AS YOU DON'T USE THE WINDOW FURTHER FOR ACCESS. BY CONTINUING TO USE THE VEHICLE W/OUT REPAIR, THE ONE WORKING HINGE AND WINDOW LATCH ITSELF ARE FORCED TO KEEP THE WINDOW IN PLACE. THIS IS A POTENTIAL DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. UNDER THE ADDED STRESS, THE SINGLE HINGE WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL, AND LIKELY AT SPEED AS THE VEHICLE HITS THE LAST BUMP THE HINGE CAN WITHSTAND, OR AS REPORTED BY OWNERS ONLINE, A WINDOW IS SIMPLY ROLLED DOWN, INCREASING WIND FORCE ON THE REAR WINDOW. IF EITHER HAPPENS THE RESULT IS ALWAYS THE WINDOW IS JETTISONED FROM THE FRAME AND LANDS ON WHATEVER IT LANDS ON BEHIND THE VEHICLE. AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THIS WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT EVENT, AS THE WINDOW IS 4-5 FEET WIDE AND LARGE AND HEAVY ENOUGH TO POTENTIALLY CAUSE DISASTER TO TRAFFIC TRAVELING BEHIND THE VEHICLE. I'VE CALLED 2 CHEVY DEALERSHIPS IN THE AREA SO FAR AND ASKED THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENTS IF THIS ISSUE IS BEING ADDRESSED AND THEIR RESPONSE HAS BEEN THEY'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE PART FAILING. THAT MAY BE TRUE, BUT IN MY OPINION NOT LIKELY. I WORRY THIS IS A TRAINED RESPONSE, SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO MINIMIZE ATTENTION ON THE MATTER. *TR

BRAKE PEDAL ALMOST TO FLOOR, EXTREMELY LONG TIME TO STOP.NO WARNING JUST DRIVING IN COLUMBUS TRAFFIC AND LOST BRAKES. FOUND MASTER CYLINDER ALMOST EMPTY. BRAKE LINES RUSTED THROUGH LEFT SIDE DRIVERS FLOOR/FRAME RAIL AREA. DEALER ESTIMATE $1200 TO$1600. SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM AS ON LINE INVESTIGATION VERIFIES.WEB SITE SHOWS OPEN CASE,NO RE-CALL TO REPAIR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR AN UNRELATED REPAIR WHEN THEY NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE AND FUEL LINES WERE RUSTED SEVERELY. IN ADDITION, THE SPARE TIRE CARRIER EXHIBITED RUST CORROSION AND WAS REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 147,000.

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY A LOUD POP WAS HEARD INSIDE THE VEHICLE FOLLOWED BY A SUDDEN AND PRONOUNCED INCREASE IN WIND NOISE. THE VEHICLE SUFFERED A STRUCTURAL FAILURE IN THE REAR TAIL GATE WINDOW HATCH. METAL FATIGUE CAUSED THE LEFT WINDOW HATCH HINGE TO SEPARATE FROM THE VEHICLE FRAME. THIS PRODUCED A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION IF AS A RESULT OF THE VEHICLE SPEED THE WINDOW HAD FULLY SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE AT HIGH SPEED IN TRAFFIC. THE GLASS WINDOW AND FRAME WOULD HAVE STRUCK THE TRAILING VEHICLE RESULTING IN POSSIBLE INJURY OR DEATH.

REAR WINDOW HINGE BROKE OFF FROM WINDOW FRAME ON 2003 SUBURBAN. VERY RARELY OPENED WINDOW BY ITSELF ALWAYS OPENED ENTIRE HATCH. CAN NOT FIND ANY RECALLS OR COMPLAINTS BY GM BUT YET CAN FIND SEVERAL 100 COMPLAINTS BY INDIVIDUALS. GM WANTS 1,000 TO FIX. IT IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW AFTER PAYING $43,000 FOR IT GM SHOULD STEP UP. THEY WILL CHECK THE WELDS ON REAR WINDOW FOR A FLAW BUT NOT THE HATCH PART WHICH IS WHAT BREAKS. HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT CHEVROLET AND THIS IS THE LONGEST ONE I HAVE OWNED BUT I WILL BE HEADING TO A DIFFERENT REAL SOON. READ ABOUT THE WINDOW BLOWING OUT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS--GUESS WE SHOULDN'T CARE IF IT IS BLOWING AWAY FROM US--RIGHT. *TR

REAR WINDOW HINGE BROKE OFF FROM WINDOW FRAME ON 2003 SUBURBAN. VERY RARELY OPENED WINDOW BY ITSELF ALWAYS OPENED ENTIRE HATCH. CAN NOT FIND ANY RECALLS OR COMPLAINTS BY GM BUT YET CAN FIND SEVERAL 100 COMPLAINTS BY INDIVIDUALS. GM WANTS 1,000 TO FIX. IT IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW AFTER PAYING $43,000 FOR IT GM SHOULD STEP UP. READ ABOUT THE WINDOW BLOWING OUT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS--GUESS WE SHOULDN'T CARE IF IT IS BLOWING AWAY FROM US--RIGHT. *TR

THE HINGE FOR THE REAR LIFTGATE WINDOW FAILED. THERE IS A HORIZONTAL CRACK ACROSS THE HINGE. IT APPEARS TO BE METAL FATIGUE. THIS FAILURE IS A SAFETY HAZARD FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: 1) THE WINDOW NO LONGER SEALS PROPERLY AND COULD ALLOW EXHAUST GASES TO ENTER THE VEHICLE CABIN, RESULTING IN CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THIS FAILURE WOULD NOT BE DETECTED IMMEDIATELY. 2) THE HINGE FAILURE CAUSES ADDITIONAL STRAIN ON THE REMAINING HINGE AND LATCH. FURTHER FAILURE WOULD RESULT IN THE WINDOW DETACHING FROM THE VEHICLE. A) IF THIS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING, THE WINDOW COULD IMPACT VEHICLE BEHIND THE SUBURBAN OR SHATTER ON THE ROADWAY LEADING TO DEBRIS RELATED ACCIDENTS. B) IF THIS OCCURRED WHILE STATIONARY, THE GLASS COULD (WHICH IS HEAVY AND SHARP EDGED) COULD INJURE A PERSON STANDING OR WALKING AT THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THIS EXACT SAME FAILURE OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY ON THIS VEHICLE AT ~ 13000 MILES OF OPERATION. THE REPAIR WAS MADE BY A DEALER AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER. THE RECENT RECURRENCE OF THE FAILURE OF THE SAME HINGE OCCURRED AT ~107000 MILES. THE PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO GENERAL MOTORS CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WAS LOGGED AS SERVICE REQUEST # 71 743 851 820 BY JATTA FLORES. JATTA DENIED OWNER'S REQUEST THAT GM REPAIR THE DEFECT. *TR

NORMAL USE FOR FOUR YEARS. THE FAILURE WAS THE WINDOW ON THE REAR HATCH HAS MOSTLY SEPARATED FROM THE VEHICLE AS THE GLUE HOLDING IT ON IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT TO HOLD IT ON. THERE IS A GAP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDOW WHERE IT IS RAISING UP, LOOKING AS IF IT COULD FLY OFF AND HIT VEHICLES BEHIND WHILE DRIVING. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE YET TO REPLACE IT AS THE COST IS ASTRONOMICAL IN THE AMOUNT OF $1200 QUOTED BY THE DEALERSHIP WHERE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. *TR