California Air Resources Board

SACRAMENTO –  General Motors has voluntarily agreed to recall and repair 1,200 1995 model year light duty pickup trucks that failed to meet California air pollution standards, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) announced today.

        "While the number of vehicles is small, this action reinforces our stance that all vehicles on the road must meet the emissions standards set for them," said ARB Chairman John Dunlap.

        The recall targets 1995 Chevrolet and GMC two-wheel drive "S" series pickup trucks with 4.3 liter engines. The effected vehicles are Chevrolet S-10 pickups and GMC Sonoma pickups.

        In tests required by the ARB, these vehicles were shown to be emitting about 25 percent more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) than state standard permits. The recall will result in the trucks being adjusted to drop them about 25 percent below the state standard for NOx. NOx is one of the main contributors to photo-chemical ozone or smog.

        Owners of these vehicles are receiving notices in the mail to bring them to dealerships to be repaired free of charge. The repair, which involves electronic recalibration of a small computer in the vehicle, should take about 30 minutes or less.

        The emissions problem was found through routine testing GM carries out on its vehicles as part of an agreement with ARB. In testing the pickup trucks after they had been in use GM found the emissions problem and reported it to ARB. The voluntary recall agreement was then worked out between ARB and GM.