General Motors Co. has recalled over 5,000 heavy duty vans, over a warning for risk of engine fires to the owners and drivers. The 2010 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana passenger and cargo vans have been found prone to fire in the engine, however no injuries or accidents have reported concerning this issue so far.

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. The company has halted the production and sale of the trucks until a fix for a suspected faulty alternator is found.

“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.

According to GM, relatively few of the affected vans are in retail customer possession. 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. The rest have been stopped at the dealerships or in ports before being exported.

Vehicles affected by the recall and stop sale fall in these ranges of Vehicle Identification Numbers (last eight digits shown):

As per report, the 2500 (three-quarter ton) and 3500 (one-ton) Series vans are amongst the affected set . The Light-duty (half-ton) Express and Savana vans use a different alternator and are still under production and shipped as well. Apart from this 1,400 AC Delco aftermarket parts have also been affected by the recall. The affected part numbers are: 15200110; 15288861; 15263859 and 15847291.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said that three fires had occurred after the vans left the assembly plant. Two of the fires took place at the Wentzville facility while the third occured at a railhead and included property damage.

The company announced that the 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 must check their repair order receipts to verify if a suspect part was involved. If found so, the owners are again requested to stop driving the vans, park them outside away from buildings and other vehicles and, if possible, disconnect both battery cables.