If I am to contact a dealer could I see what recall work was done to the car before purchase? This would be for a 1997 cavalier, so I'm wondering if it will even qualify if there were recalls for the vehicle that were never taken care of...
Anyone care to explain?

I got this from a simple carfax report.

They would need the VIN and they would be able to tell you whatever work was done by a dealership. Since you're looking for recall stuff, it should all be in there if it was done. I had to do this with my truck a few years back.

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Ok that was the plan to head to a dealer to find out, just curious if they will still do the work even though the car is so old now.

go to the dealer, give them your VIN, ask for open campaigns and a printout of completed warranty work (which would include any completed campaigns).,,, It should take the service writer like 10 seconds to plug your VIN in and get the information.

If there are any open campaigns, the dealership is obligated to do them for free.

Keep in mind, most dealerships regard "Recall" as a bad word. So you'll get farther using the term "Campaign"

Most campaigns have an "expiration date" to them. Chances are that any campaign on your car has expired by now if it was never performed.

this is true... however some of the safety ones do not...

example... i had an 02 hyundai come in the other day for an airbag campaign that launched in 03.. .

mitdr774 wrote:Most campaigns have an "expiration date" to them. Chances are that any campaign on your car has expired by now if it was never performed.

That's what I was going to figure, never hurts to check I guess.
But if a dealer brings it up and it isn't expired, then they are required to do it?

Believe it or not, there was only something like 3 or 4 recalls for that car I do believe. Only 2 I ever had open on my 97 was the steering and the ignition one. The others came up before I bought my car, which I bought from a Chevy dealer. So they must have been taken care of at the very least right before I bought the car.





i find it amusing that SHOoff has nothing better to do but follow me around & be an unhelpful dick in even cross-forum. - Jon Mick

Yup those are the two I want to check on steering and ignition. Just need to get time to go and do it, and dealers around here are pathetic to work with....

You talking about the ignotion one where they install another relay to keep from over heating the wires on the ignition switch if it is turned over for too long?



FU Tuning

Addicted to meth wrote:You talking about the ignotion one where they install another relay to keep from over heating the wires on the ignition switch if it is turned over for too long?

Yeah. That one should usually be pretty easy to find if you don't wanna deal with the dealership. Just open the hood and look to see if there's an extra relay in there somewhere. They put mine up on the radiator support near the battery. The steering one might be a little harder to find. I think there's an 800 number you can call GM and find out as well.





i find it amusing that SHOoff has nothing better to do but follow me around & be an unhelpful dick in even cross-forum. - Jon Mick

WHats the steering recall? I received a letter from GM when they opened the Ignition recall.


"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"

Quote:

STEERING:RACK AND PINION Recall for 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier

Recall Announced NOVEMBER 04 2002
NHTSA Reference #02V286000
Number Affected 1,159,156

Summary: Certain passenger vehicles and mini vans have lower pinion bearings in the power rack and pinion assembly in which the retainer tabs were not crimped properly. These and some other retainers used in vehicles assembled between January 1, 1996 and October 31, 1997, could fail and permit the ball bearings to escape.

Consequence: If this occurs, the pinion shaft can be forced upward during left turns and back down as the steering wheel is moved back and to the right. If the pinion shaft moves further, the driver will need to exert more effort to turn the steering wheel, similar to a vehicle without power assisted steering. If the pinion shaft moves even further, the driver will require much higher effort to turn left and may not be able to turn the wheel as much as intended. With the maximum pinion shaft movement, which requires internal gear component damage, the driver can encounter high resistance to turning left, followed by unintended power assist to the right. In any of these conditions, a crash could occur.

Fix: Dealers will install a new lower pinion bearing unless inspect of the existing bearing indicates that replacement of the gear assembly is necessary. Owner notification began January 24, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, Pontiac at 1-800-762-2737, or Oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537.

For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning recall #02V286000 »

i find it amusing that SHOoff has nothing better to do but follow me around & be an unhelpful dick in even cross-forum. - Jon Mick

Yeah i refused to have the ignition recall done.



FU Tuning

Why?





i find it amusing that SHOoff has nothing better to do but follow me around & be an unhelpful dick in even cross-forum. - Jon Mick

SHOoff wrote:Why?

1. I do not like how they did it. Looks crappy in the enginebay.
2. If my car does not start right off I know there is a issue and I'm not going to just keep cranking it and heating up the wiring to cause a fire.
3. By the time I got the notice for this I had already decided my car would never see another Dealer again. It only went a dealer twice. that was within the first 1500 miles. Everything else has been all me. Good and bad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, November 18, 2011 3:27 PM


FU Tuning

the ignition recall was done to mine before i got it... the new wiring harness did not come with the relay... needless to say... the ignition recall has been undone on my car

I wouldnt have had the recal for the ignition done but my dad took the car to the dealer while I was at school.

Was very easy to remove the relay and fix the wire they cut.


"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"

any recals for a 2005 sunfire ?

evil lives wrote:any recals for a 2005 sunfire ?

You can check your car here,
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/RecallSearch.cfm