NHTSA recall 04V060000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 04V060000 |
| Manufacturer's number | 04006 |
| Manufacturer | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| Reported | 2004-02-09 |
| Owners notified | 2004-04-26 |
| Component | STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE |
| Units potentially affected | 126624 |
What is wrong
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ELECTRONIC COLUMN LOCK SYSTEMS (ECL), WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH IS TURNED TO "LOCK," THE ECL SYSTEM PREVENTS TURNING OF THE STEERING SYSTEM. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED, THE ECL UNLOCKS THE STEERING SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED SO THAT IF THE COLUMN FAILS TO UNLOCK WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED AND THE CUSTOMER TRIES TO DRIVE, THE FUEL SUPPLY WILL BE SHUT OFF SO THAT THE VEHICLE CANNOT MOVE WHEN THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE STEERED. IF VOLTAGE AT THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE IS LOW OR INTERRUPTED, HOWEVER, THE FUEL SHUT OFF MAY NOT OCCUR AND THE VEHICLE CAN BE ACCELERATED WHILE THE STEERING SYSTEM IS LOCKED. ALSO WHEN THE CONTROL SYSTEM SHOWS THAT THE ECL IS UNLOCKED AND THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, THE LOCK PIN LOCATION CAN VARY. DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION OF THE LOCK PLATE RELATIVE TO THE SWITCH TRANSITION POINT, THERE COULD THEN BE CONTACT BETWEEN THE LOCK PLATE AND PIN CAUSING THE STEERING TO LOCK WHILE DRIVING .
What can happen
IF THIS OCCURS, A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, THE DEALER WILL DISABLE THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK BY REMOVING THE COLUMN LOCK PLATE. WHEN THE IGNITION KEY IS REMOVED, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTER WILL LOCK BUT THE STEERING COLUMN WILL NOT LOCK. ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, THE DEALER WILL REPROGRAM THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE, PERFORM A DIMENSIONAL CHECK OF THE COLUMN LOCK AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE LOCK PLATE. THE STEERING COLUMN ON THESE VEHICLES WILL CONTINUE TO LOCK WHEN THE KEY IS REMOVED. OWNER NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS OF 1997 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS BEGAN ON APRIL 26, 2004. OWNERS OF 1998 THROUGH 2004 VEHICLES (EXCEPT 1997-1998 MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES) WILL BE NOTIFIED BEGINNING ON AUGUST 2, 2004. THE REMAINING OWNERS (1997-1998 MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES) WILL BE NOTIFIED LATER IN 2004, WHEN PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438.
Notes
GM RECALL NO. 04006.CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
| 1997 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 1996-09-01 to 1997-07-31. |
|---|---|
| 1998 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 1997-03-01 to 1998-06-30. |
| 1999 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 1998-03-01 to 1999-06-30. |
| 2000 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 1999-03-01 to 2000-06-30. |
| 2001 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 2000-03-01 to 2001-06-30. |
| 2002 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 2001-03-01 to 2002-06-30. |
| 2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 2002-02-01 to 2003-06-30. |
| 2004 CHEVROLET CORVETTE | Built 2003-02-01 to 2004-01-30. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Investigated as EA02031
This recall followed 1 NHTSA investigation. An investigation is NHTSA looking into a possible defect. It is not a finding that a defect exists, and it does not say that any one vehicle is affected.
| EA02031 | Engineering analysis, opened 2002-11-15, closed 2004-03-11. STEERING COLUMN LOCKUP. STEERING:COLUMN; STEERING:COLUMN LOCKING:ANTI-THEFT DEVICE; STEERING. |
|---|
From NHTSA's investigation file, as of 2026-10-19. The JSON has NHTSA's summary of each.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| PIC6522 | 2023-12-04. Service bulletin. This Preliminary Information communicates diagnostic information to dealership techs to assist them in diagnosing either a "Service Column Lock" or a "Pull Key, Wait 10 Seconds" message on the DIC. |
|---|---|
| 03-00-91-001I | 2023-11-22. Service bulletin. This service bulletin provides a vibration analysis worksheet the technician can use in conjunction with the appropriate Vibration Analysis-Road testing procedure when diagnosing vibration concerns. |
| PIC3278G | 2017-08-15. Service bulletin. This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician the steps needed to diagnose and repair the vehicles that may have unwanted or phantom phone calls. Technician will need to determine what type of call the customer is having that is unwanted. The vehicle may receive an incoming call just like any other phone. Typically the customer will hear the phone ringing in the vehicle. This scenario also includes incoming Bluetooth calls. One type of unwanted call can be made if the key pad is faulty the OnStar system will try to make a blue button call for shorted voltage in the circuits. The OnStar module could have an internal fault and produce a ″Phone Unavailable″ audio message also it may have a Diagnostic Trouble Code U1500 or B1000. Refer to diagnostics for the Diagnostic Trouble Code making sure to follow any applicable Bulletins or Preliminary Information sheets. A “Ready” or “OnStar ready” audio message heard while driving. In some cases it has been found that the customer is inadvertently pressing the ″push to talk″ button on the steering wheel controls. On rare occasions, other issues in the steering column or Steering Wheel Control system may induce this concern. |
| PIP4404E | 2017-08-15. Service bulletin. This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician vehicles with a slight rough idle. Technician should compare the concern with a like vehicle. If the concern is worse than a like vehicle, technician should follow published Service Information diagnosis and repair as necessary. |
| 05081 | 2006-04-25. Service bulletin. SPECIAL POLICY ADJUSTMENT-ELECTRONIC COLUMN LOCK SYSTEM. THE COLUMN LOCK MAY FAIL TO UNLOCK THE STEERING COLUMN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. *TT |
| 050235004 | 2005-11-09. Service bulletin. REVISED STEERING COLUMN TURN SIGNAL CANCEL CAM AND STEERING SHAFT UPPER BEARING SPRING REPLACEMENT (MANUAL AND TELESCOPING) PROCEDURE. *TT |
| 3475 | 2005-05-12. Service bulletin. TELESCOPING COLUMN MOVES WITH SEAT SWITCH. *TT |
| 02122004 | 2005-04-06. Service bulletin. A CONDITION IN WHICH THE VEHICLE CAN OPERATE WHEN THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN FAILS TO UNLOCK. *TT |
| 040235003 | 2005-03-11. Service bulletin. REVISED STEERING WHEEL AND COLUMN DIAGNOSTICS. *TT |
| 030236002 | 2005-03-08. Service bulletin. REVISED STEERING WHEEL POSITION SENSOR OR STEERING SHAFT LOWER BEARING REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE AND STEERING WHEEL POSITION SENSOR CENTERING PROCEDURE. *EH |
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.