Important! 2004 - 2009 Cadillac XLR: Service Bulletin: Special Coverage Adjustment – Airbag Light On

[Rob]

SUBJECT: Special Coverage Adjustment – Airbag Light On

MODELS: 2004-2009 Cadillac XLR
2005-2013 Chevrolet Corvette

CONDITION

On some 2004-2009 model year Cadillac XLR and 2005-2013 model year Chevrolet Corvette vehicles, equipped with power seats, the wire harness connector from the seat side airbag and buckle tensioner to the body has a design interference between the vertical adjust crossbar and the carpet. When the seat is moved forward or back, the connector may be dragged along the carpet, pulling terminals loose or pulling the connector apart. This will cause a diagnostic trouble code to be set and the service airbag light will be illuminated.

SPECIAL COVERAGE ADJUSTMENT

This special coverage covers the condition described above for a period of 10 years or 120,000 miles (193,000 km), whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, regardless of ownership.
Dealers will replace the affected harness connection with a soldered connection. The repairs will be made at no charge to the customer.

For vehicles covered by Vehicle Service Contracts, all eligible claims with repair orders on or after April 21, 2016, are covered by this special coverage and must be submitted using the labor operation codes provided with this bulletin. Claims with repair orders prior to April 21, 2016, must be submitted to the Service Contract provider.

VEHICLES INVOLVED

All involved vehicles are identified by Vehicle Identification Number on the Applicable Warranties section in GM Global Warranty Management system. Dealership service personnel should always check this site to confirm vehicle involvement prior to beginning any required inspections and/or repairs. It is important to routinely use this tool to verify eligibility because not all similar vehicles may be involved regardless of description or option content.

The full service bulletin is attached below:

 

[cubby558]

Thanks for finding and posting this Rob.

I'm not impressed with GM's fix for this, after reading the bulletin. Splicing this together to eliminate the connector, also makes it impossible to remove the seat without again cutting it apart and then doing the same connection again. They should have found a smaller connection which could be cable tied under the seat, to keep from dragging.

 

[BusaMan]

I agree w/ Cubby that this soldering strategy is a helluva "kludge" of a fix.

Also, my dealer says that there will be a change to this bulletin to extend the 10-year limit. This one is DOA for a lot of XLRs, including mine.

Tim

 

[Rule62]

So, just to be clear...

...your "Air Bag" telltale must be illuminated in order for this condition to exist, right?

 

[XLRATING]

I agree w/ Cubby that this soldering strategy is a helluva "kludge" of a fix.
Tim

Hey, cut GM some slack - they only had 12 years to perfect it!

Really slick that they managed to issue it only once several years of affected vehicles wouldn't be eligible for repair...

 

[ccclarke]

Both connectors under the seat have positive locks to keep them mated. There isn't much to drag on, and it's hard to believe the carpet can generate enough friction to de-mate the connectors.

If the recommended fix involves removing the connectors and splicing the harness back together, it makes seat removal a much more complex job as the harness must be cut and repaired each time.

An easier fix for owners would be to tie wrap the mated connector pairs to the bottom of the seat and add a tie wrap to both connectors, double-locking them together, since a bale is on one and removable "keeper" pins are on the other.

I suspect this is a fix for very few documented cases, but being a potential "safety" issue. . . GM isn't doing it out of generosity but legislation.

To me, this appears to be a classic example of the cure being worse than the disease.

CCC

 

[Army Al]

Hey, cut GM some slack - they only had 12 years to perfect it!

Really slick that they managed to issue it only once several years of affected vehicles wouldn't be eligible for repair...

My original purchase date was April 11, 2006. Missed it by 10 days. Besides, I never readjust my driver's seat anyway. One less thing electrically going wrong. I guess GM saved some money in my case.

 

[onalaska]

I had a DTC showing an airbag problem on the passenger side a while back and traced it to a connector below the seat. Unplugged it and sprayed contact cleaner on the contacts and it has worked fine ever since.

Had the same problem with the wife's STS and solved it the same way. The contacts appear to be gold plated, but I think they just make poor connection over time. That is a pretty sensitive circuit.

Also learned that this is an active seat belt system and when the air bag fires the seat belt anchor itself has a small charge that fires at the same time which pulls the seat belt tighter on the occupant. Kind of scary!

 

[pure zen]

DARE GREATLYt,,,, you say?

Bulletin dated April, 2016:

Unless the 10 year limitation is extended beyond,,,,most 2004-2005 and many early 2006 model XLRs and Vettes are S@#t out of Luck for the 'free' unacceptable solder 'fix'

Reminds me of the delayed, refusal to accept responsibility, GM ignition key mechanism recall from a few years back...where several people died before fault was exposed and admitted. I figure protecting bottom line profits are more important than customers concerns, regardless of the BS they project otherwise. Yes, DARE GREATLY......

 

[hawkeye372]

just got back into the country and saw your post. thanks will check into this with my dealer