NHTSA reviews defect petition on GMC General Motors: DOOR LATCH FAILURE
On June 12, 1996, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Defect Petition (DP96008) into GMC General Motors, concerning the structure. A Defect Petition is a request, usually from a vehicle owner, asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; ODI reviews it and then grants or denies it. As of NHTSA’s latest data it is still open.
- Action
- DP96008 (Defect Petition)
- Status
- Open
- Component
- Structure
- Listed
- 1 make/model/year entry in NHTSA’s file
Vehicles under investigation
| Make | GMC |
|---|---|
| Model | General Motors |
As listed in NHTSA’s investigation file. Not every vehicle of a listed model is necessarily affected.
What ODI says
PUBLIC CITZEN (PC) PETITIONED THE AGENCY TO INVESTIGATE THE TYPE III DOOR LATCHES INSTALLED IN MODEL YEAR 1978 THROUGH 1988 GM VEHICLES.SPECIFICALLY, PC ALLEGED THAT DURING A COLLISION, THE TYPE III DOOR LATCH ALLOWS THE DETENT LEVER TO BE OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE FORK BOLT, ALLOWING THE DOOR TO INADVERTENTLY OPEN AND THE OCCUPANT TO BE EJECTED.
Official summary by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation for DP96008, quoted in full (U.S. government work, public domain).
Timeline
- ODI opens defect petition DP96008
- OpenNo closing date yet
What this means for owners
- An investigation is not a recall. NHTSA has not made a defect finding here, and owners are not asked to do anything yet. If a safety defect is confirmed, the manufacturer recalls the vehicles and the repair is free.
- Check your vehicle for open recalls with a free VIN recall check.
- Had this problem? File a complaint with NHTSA. Owner complaints are the evidence ODI uses to open and expand investigations.
Official record: search DP96008 or your vehicle at NHTSA.gov/recalls, which lists investigations alongside recalls. Data: NHTSA ODI investigations file, updated daily. All NHTSA investigations.