Posted by Marty on February 12, 03 at 09:28:50:
California Requires General Motors Warranty Extension
State regulators say the warranty extensions will protect air quality by helping owners repair their fuel injection systems.
SACRAMENTO (AP) 2.12.03, 7:12a --
California regulators said they are requiring General Motors Corp. to extend its fuel injector warranty coverage on about 700,000 light- and medium-duty sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans dating from the 1996 model year.
The regulators said Tuesday the warranty extensions will protect air quality by helping vehicle owners repair fuel injection systems that can spew more pollution if they are not working properly. The extensions on vehicles sold through the 2001 model year could cost the company $100 million, the California Air Resources Board estimated.
General Motors disputed that the cost will be anywhere near that high.
"More than 75 percent of the respective vehicle owners have not and may never experience a problem," the company said in a statement. "For the remaining customers who have experienced problems, most have had the problem resolved after following a simple cleaning and maintenance procedure which has been in use since Feb. 2000, and covered under the original extended warranty policy."
GM will soon begin notifying vehicle owners that the original 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty is being extended to 10 years, 200,000 miles, with repairs at no cost.
The Air Resources Board described GM's Sequential Central Port Injector (SCPI) fuel system as "trouble-prone," and said malfunctions may prompt "Service Engine Soon" dashboard warning lights, misfires, rough idles, and starting problems. The problems stem from deposit accumulations that may cause poppet valves to stick and fail, the board said.
"Malfunctioning fuel injection systems can cause significant increases in air pollution," the board's executive officer, Catherine Witherspoon, said in announcing the decision.
The system was installed on GM sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans with 4.3L, 5.0L, and 5.7 liter engines.
GM agreed to extend the warranty in December, but asked that a public announcement be delayed until it corrected a production problem on a new fuel injection system called Multiport Flexible Injection. The company will clean the fuel injection system the first time there is a problem and replace it with the new system if it fails a second time. It also will reimburse owners who paid for repairs.
The air board put GM's cleaning cost at $115 per vehicle and replacement cost at $350.
The board said GM agreed to extend the original three-year, 50,000 mile warranty four years ago when problems with the fuel injectors were first brought to its attention. At that time, the company agreed to provide cleaning, but not replacement, for 10 years or 100,000 miles.
On the Net: http://www.arb.ca.gov