General Motors said it plans to recall about 5,000 heavy-duty vans built in February and March -- and halt production and sale of the vehicles -- because an alternator may pose a fire engine risk, Reuters reported. 

GM said it was still determining how to remedy the problem, which affects heavy-duty 2010 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana passenger and cargo vans. About 1,300 of the vans have gone to fleet customers.

GM advised owners to stop driving the vans, park them away from structures and other vehicles, and disconnect both battery cables. 

The automaker added that the vans in question cannot be rented by fleet customers or sold by dealers until a fix is developed. 

Light-duty Express and Savana vans use a different alternator and were not under a production halt. 

GM said the last eight digits of the vehicle identification numbers for the heavy-duty Express 2500 and 3500 series vans recalled are A1129327 through A1142523. The GMC Savana 2500 and 3500 series ID numbers run from A1128784 through A1901915. 

About 1,400 AC Delco replacement alternators are also being recalled and may have been installed in vehicles in February and March, GM said. The recalled replacement alternators are numbered 15200110, 15288861, 15263859 and 15847291. 

Those replacement heavy-duty alternators could have been used in 2005 to 2010 MY Express or Savana heavy-duty vans or other 2005 to 2009 GM trucks or SUVs.