General Motors Co. (GM) is conducting a safety recall of about 5,000 heavy-duty Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana passenger and cargo vans and halting production and sale of the trucks until a fix for a suspected faulty alternator can be determined.

Retail and fleet customers who purchased these vans, which were built in February and March this year, are being urged to stop driving the vans, park them outside away from buildings and other vehicles and, if possible, disconnect both battery cables.

Vehicles affected by the recall and stop sale fall in these ranges of Vehicle Identification Numbers (last eight digits shown): Chevrolet Express A1129327 to A1142523, and GMC Savana models 2500 and 3500 with VINs ranging from A1128784 to A1901915.

Relatively few of the affected vans are in retail customer possession, said GM. About 1,300 are in rental and other fleets, and a Stop Sale order was issued Friday, preventing the fleet-owned vans from being rented or those on dealer lots from being sold. Others are being held at dealerships or in ports before being exported.

Only the 2500 (three-quarter ton) and 3500 (one-ton) Series vans are affected. Light-duty (half-ton) Express and Savana vans use a different alternator. The light-duty vans are still being built and shipped from the plant in Wentzville, Mo. Typical production at the plant is about 60 percent heavy-duty models.

"The Stop Sale and production halt are measures being taken to assure customer safety until we have a repair procedure," said Jeff Boyer, GM executive director of Safety and Interiors.

ACDelco Alternators Also Affected
About 1,400 ACDelco aftermarket parts also are affected by the recall. The affected part numbers are: 15200110; 15288861; 15263859 and 15847291.

Customers who had a heavy duty alternator replaced in February or March in a 2005-2010 heavy-duty Express or Savana van or other 2005-2009 GM truck or SUV also are being urged to check their repair order receipts to determine if a suspect part was involved. If it was, or the part used is unknown, they are urged to follow the same procedures described above — stop driving their vehicles, park them away from buildings and other vehicles and, if possible, disconnect both battery cables.

These owners also are asked to contact their Customer Assistance Center to provide their contact information, so the company can follow-up with them when more information is available.