NHTSA complaint: 2004 CHEVROLET S10 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
CHEVY S-10 QUAD CAB CAUGHT ON FIRE DUE TO ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION; PASSENGER SEAT WAS ADJUSTED (ELECTRIC SEAT WITH HEAT) SMELLED SMOKE AND PARKED VEHICLE TOOK KEYS AND EXITED VEHICLE WITH PASSENGER. VEHICLE BURNED ALL WIRING AND THE FUSE BOX UNDER THE HOOD MELTED. NO FLAMES SEEN ONLY SMOKE, ALL WIRING MELTED UNDER THE SEAT AND CARPET THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AND NO ELECTRICAL ITEM WOULD TURN ON. HAD VEHICLE TOWED ON BACK OF FLAT BED TO CHEVY DEALER. THEY SAID IT WAS OUR FAULT THAT A WIRE UNDER THE SEAT WAS PINCHED BY THE SEAT TRACK. THE COST WAS OVER $4,000. THEY SAID THAT THE INSTALLED ZIP TIES AND THAT THE WIRE WOULD NOT HAVE ANY ISSUES AGAIN, THEY ALSO REPLACED CARPET, FUSE BOX, JUNCTION CLOCK, SIR MODULE, (CARPET, HARNESS, MODULE, BLOCK, HARNESS, FUSE KIT, FUSE, COIL KIT, HEATER YES TWO HARNESS WERE REPLACED) AND THE COMPLETE WIRING HARNESS. THIS THEN HAPPEN A SECOND TIME, HOWEVER WE TOOK IT TO A SECOND DEALERSHIP IN AL BENTLEY GMC THEY DETERMINED THAT ORIGINAL REPAIR WIRE SHORTEN OUT THE SYSTEM, THE WIRING HARNESS BECAME UNFASTENED AND WAS CUT BY THE SEAT TRACK. THIS TIME DUE TO MY WIFE QUICK THINKING THERE WAS LESS DAMAGE (TURNED OFF VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY AND LEFT VEHICLE IN PARKING SPOT.) FIRST TIME HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY. BOTH TIMES PARTS REPLACED WE HAVE OLD PARTS IN OUR HOUSE MINUS- CARPET. DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED NO RECALL ON TRUCK. DEALERSHIP SAID NO MALFUNCTION OCCURRED EVEN THOUGH FUSES DID NOT BREAK CURRENT. SECOND TIME OCCURRED IN JUNE 2009 PAR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation