While having my brakes checked by my mechanic on my 1999 Chevrolet Silverado a problem was discovered with the gas tank straps. One strap had corroded completely through and was broken and the other strap was also corroded and just about ready to give away also. This left the gas tank hanging down at least 6 to 7 inches if not more. My mechanic has ordered new straps for the gas tank and temporarily wired the gas tank back up to prevent it from falling off the pickup truck while traveling down the highway. I went to the Chevy dealership in town. They informed me that this was the first they have ever heard of this happening and there were no recalls that they were aware of. I than called GM to report the situation and file a complaint on it. I explained the entire situation to them including the mechanics name, business address and phone number that they could call for verification of the information. I was concerned that this situation could happen to someone driving down the highway with a full tank of gas unaware of the problem and have their gas tank fall off causing a fire or explosion on the road. When they asked me what I wanted to resolve the situation. I told the lady it would be nice to get reimbursed to have the problem fixed. She said that probably would not happen due to not having a Chevy dealer fix the problem and that the vehicle had too many miles on it. I reemphasized the reason for making this call was a safety concern that I had about this possibly causing a serious accident for someone while traveling down the highway. I also stated that this was too new of a vehicle for this type of problem to occur regardless of mileage and that I felt the problem was due to a factory default. It would be great to get reimbursed for having this problem fixed but it would be greater if the information on this factory default got out and possibly saved someone's life.

- Dwight, IL, USA