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Airbags

4K views 42 replies 17 participants last post by  rob the elder 
#1 ·
Seems like the airbag issue comes up quite a bit .did GM ever have any recalls addressing the issue?
 
#2 ·
You are right. This safety issue comes up all too often, but for whatever reason GM just ignores it. Almost like GM doesn't claim Pontiac since they killed it.
 
#12 ·
Hello all,

Apologies for any frustrations regarding the illumination of your Solstice’s airbag light. While I have noted the issues mentioned on this forum, if anyone would like us to look into their concerns further, we’d be happy to do so. Please PM us with your VIN and further details so we can proceed.

Regards,

Geoff G.
GM Customer Care
 
#13 ·
Excuse me Geoff, but most all KAPPA owners warranty's are up, and if you do the research followed up by your fellow service coworkers, you will find that on this issue anyway, the most you are able to do is set up an appointment with a dealer who is going to tell the customer that it will cost him/her $800 or more to repair. Been there done that.
 
#14 ·
bri - please know that Geoff is doing what he can do withing the constraints he must operate under. Those who have experienced this are rightfully frustrated, but I for one appreciate GM keeping a service rep at least monitoring forums such as these.
 
#18 ·
@briguy58 couple years ago I got in touch with GM regarding my passenger presence system and they offered to split the cost. Might be worth bugging customer service some more. Even though it's "your responsibility" I'm sure GM doesn't want "airbag didn't deploy" news stories popping up with the recent recalls.

Dealer price was $600-700 I think, I paid half of whatever it was.

if you can find the part itself it still requires a Tech2 to calibrate.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Thanks, but I talked with a couple supervisors and they said at some point they have to stop extending warranties, so they are unable to reimburse anything, even in customer loyalty cash, ( I own 2 other GM vehicles) I did buy and install my own cushion, and then had to go to the dealer to get it programed. So much with GM's concern for safety... And then they had the guts to tell me they had indeed done me a huge favor by calling the dealer and getting 10% off the price. Well my dealer was running a special where if you spend over $600 you get that discount, but they took credit for that. They must think the general populace as just bunch of ignorant pimples of festering puss.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Damn, that's hateful. :cuss: A guy I know got the split deal less than a year ago so thought I'd mention it. I understand they don't want to pay out of warranty but airbag faults are a pretty serious issue. It's funny that my catalytic converter is warranted (10yr/120k) longer than something that could save a life...

Doing a split on every solstice produced would only be ~$25M Or just set aside ~$50M and do it for free :yesnod: Pocket change compared to the $4.1B ignition recall!
 
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#21 · (Edited)
Yep, typical corporation BS, ignore the problem until you can't. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us to constitute a real problem for GM, and that's the reality of it. But, the thing they don't realize is that, bad news travels ten time faster and farther than good news. Hateful? maybe. Intentional malice, definitely. WATCH OUT GM, I'M STILL COMIN ATCHA. You definitely burned the wrong guy.
 
#24 ·
Ignition / Airbag Recall

The Solstice had an Ignition Recall due to the Ignition suddenly going into the off position therefore causing accidents where the airbags did not deploy.
I had an ignition replaced through a recall notice last year. Of coarse AFTER having an accident that I could not understand why it happened? When the police came that's all I could think to say at the time was that I must have hit a puddle since it was raining...I did not want to be charged with careless driving or something else. I was fortunate that it was a single car accident.
I have been driving my solstice since the fall of 2006 and never had a problem in the rain before so I was very angry to discover that the faulty ignition was what caused my accident. GM had known about these ignitions for several years before telling anyone. Once they acknowledged the faulty ignitions I received a letter telling me to remove everything off of my key chain except the ignition key & the key fob( because any added weight on the key chain could make the key in the ignition turn to the off position)Until the Ignition Replacement parts came into my dealer.
I can't believe that no one else has not heard of this recall or had an ignition problem?
 
#26 ·
The Solstice had an Ignition Recall due to the Ignition suddenly going into the off position therefore causing accidents where the airbags did not deploy.
I had an ignition replaced through a recall notice last year. Of coarse AFTER having an accident that I could not understand why it happened? When the police came that's all I could think to say at the time was that I must have hit a puddle since it was raining...I did not want to be charged with careless driving or something else. I was fortunate that it was a single car accident.
I have been driving my solstice since the fall of 2006 and never had a problem in the rain before so I was very angry to discover that the faulty ignition was what caused my accident. GM had known about these ignitions for several years before telling anyone. Once they acknowledged the faulty ignitions I received a letter telling me to remove everything off of my key chain except the ignition key & the key fob( because any added weight on the key chain could make the key in the ignition turn to the off position)Until the Ignition Replacement parts came into my dealer.
I can't believe that no one else has not heard of this recall or had an ignition problem?
Everyone on the forum and Facebook pages have heard about the recall. The question posted here has to do with the PASSENGER airbag issue which is the sensor gone bad.
 
#25 ·
This just happened to my Solstice. I've had the car 3 months and the air bag service message came on. Took it to the dealer and sure enough it's the passenger sensor. Now I'm looking at an $800.00 bill...not very happy to say the least.

@Geoff from GMService,
I've sent you a PM with the VIN and contact details as you requested. Hoping GM can do something about this.

tnx
 
#27 · (Edited)
Again, the REAL problem is GM not recalling something in our cars that is recalled in other cars. Fine if GM didn't want to do a recall, then no cars with the faulty part should be covered. Other cars that are out of warranty are getting this fixed. We aren't. Why is that? Because we have a low production car? Because we own vehicles from 2 brands that GM dissolved? Whatever the reason, it's BS. GM should do the right thing, but instead we are left out in the cold. The Sky is my LAST GM car, PERIOD. The new Subaru BRZ I purchased for my wife is an absolute joy to drive. Our 2004 Honda Accord and 2008 Nissan Pathfinder still run like champs and have had ZERO issues like the crap that comes along with owning GM's garbage. I have for the longest time tried to "buy American" (I've owned 5 GMs), but I can see that that philosophy is a mistake. Hell, I was planning on buying a C7 in the future, but I'm going back to wanting to purchase an R8. I'm going to vote with my dollars because that's all I can do.
 
#29 ·
Hello all,
here's an update on my solstice's airbag issue.

I called GM customer service in Canada and they opened a case for me and they also called the dealer. The dealer here in Cobourg Ontario was gracious enough to offer 10% off, kudos to Thomas Pontiac GMC for that gesture. Still the bill was a bit over $800.00 after taxes.

GM customer service did follow up with me this morning but told me they are not able to help because the warranty is over and there are no related recalls. I told them of the many airbag issues reported on this forum and asked to speak to an engineer regarding what I feel is a design issue. They promised to follow up with management and get back to me.

In the meantime I got the old part from the dealer and was able to find where the issue is. It is a hairline crack on the copper foil that makes up the sensor (I would post a picture, but this website is asking for a URL instead of a file name). I think this is probably something that happens quite often if people are placing items on the passenger seat (considering there is no trunk space) or if they place a knee on the seat when latching the top.

I plan to send the picture to GM. Will post another message if something else comes up.
 
#35 ·
All things being relative, we have a relatively high failure rate observed on the Kappa platform. I have a co-worker that had a failure in his Equinox. Might be a similar design, might even be the same part number.

That isn't to say the design doesn't work well and last in other applications. It might be problematic in a small two-seater where people are inclined to kneel on the seat to clean/service the interior.
 
#33 ·
To clarify the thread Chickenwire linked to, I'm VERY familiar with the material the seat sensor is made out of. They use the brand name DuPont Kapton (oxydiphenylene-pyromellitimide). In my world, it's used as dielectric material for high voltage capacitors and other high voltage uses that may flex. They used a lot of it on the James Webb Space Telescope and the Apollo missions. It takes very wide temperature swings -452F to +752F.

The conductor is actually printed between the layers of Kapton, so as others have attempted, there is no way to attach to the printed circuit.
 
#37 ·
GM has promised to have someone from their design team call me to discuss the issue further.

In a nutshell I see the problem as a "design/material/manufacturing" flaw because it is happening to so many cars and it seems to be occurring on the same spot in the sensor. I would not consider the problem as normal wear and tear (my car only has 48,000km) and not when its happening to so many cars. Considering this is a safety item I think GM should be paying more attention to it.

Could someone send me a private PM with JPEG files of similar issues? Chickenwire did post a link above, but when I try to lift those pictures and send them to GM, they end up in an unreadable format.

tnx
 
#38 ·
Could someone send me a private PM with JPEG files of similar issues? Chickenwire did post a link above, but when I try to lift those pictures and send them to GM, they end up in an unreadable format.
Those are my photos. PM me your email and I'll send you all of them (I can't enclose them in a PM).
 
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