2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE Complaints

PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR MALFUNCTIONED, GIVING ERROR ON DASHBOARD. RESEARCHED ERROR TO FIND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM THAT OCCURS FREQUENTLY AND THE EXPENSIVE REPAIR IS REPORTED TO BE VERY TEMPORARY.

PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR FAILED. DEALER QUOTED COST TO REPAIR IS NEARLY 10% OF WHAT VEHICLE IS WORTH.

THE AIR BAG SENSOR IN MY VEHICLE FAILED SHORTLY AFTER LOGGING 25,000 MILES. THE FAILURE INDICATION HAPPENED AT SLOW SPEED WHILE TURNING LEFT ONTO A BUMPY ROAD. ANY PASSENGER IN THE CAR FACES ADDED RISK IF AN ACCIDENT WERE TO OCCUR. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE OWNER'S COST TO FIX THIS ITEM IS PROHIBITIVE ($800 OR MORE), AND THAT THE EARLY FAILURE OF THIS PART IS SOMEWHAT COMMON FOR THIS VEHICLE. DISCUSSING THIS WITH OTHER OWNERS, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE AND THE EXPENSIVE FIX ONLY TEMPORARILY SOLVES THE PROBLEM. I UNDERSTAND THIS CAN LEAD TO A DEPLOYMENT FAILURE OR AN UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. THIS IS AN UNRELIABLE SAFETY CRITICAL COMPONENT THAT HAS NO PLACE IN A PASSENGER VEHICLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE WARNING CHIME SOUNDED WHICH INDICATED THAT THE SEAT BELT WAS NOT LATCHED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000.

PONTIAC SOLSTICE PASSENGER PRESENCE SENSOR HAS FAILED THEREBY CAUSING A FAILURE OF THE PASSENGER AIRBAG SYSTEM AND THE CONTINUAL ILLUMINATION OF THE AIRBAG FAILURE LIGHT.

DEAR NHTSA CSR, I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE IT APPEARS GM IS IGNORING A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE. PLEASE REVIEW THE COMPLAINT I FILED WITH GM BELOW AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. DEAR GM CSR, ON AUGUST 27, 2015 I HAD MY 2006 SOLSTICE IN FOR SERVICE AT RENTSCHLER, SLATINGTON, PA. THE ISSUE IS THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG IS NOT ACTIVATING FOR MY WIFE BUT DOES FOR ME. SHE WEIGHS 119 LBS. RENTSCHLER REPORTED PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WORKING FINE. I ASKED WHAT IS WEIGHT OF PERSON THAT SAT IN PASSENGER SIDE SEAT? THEY INDICATED A MALE TECH. I STATED WORKS FOR ME ALSO BUT NOT FOR MY WIFE. THEY SAID THEY WOULD HAVE ONE OF THEIR GIRLS (ROBIN) TRY. THEY THEN WERE ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. ROBIN WEIGHS 110LBS. THE RENTSCHLER SERVICE PERSON THEN SHARED THEY CALLED GM AND WERE TOLD BY GM THAT THE AIR BAG ACTIVATION SENSOR IS WORKING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS. I FIND THIS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE. THE AIR BAG SENSOR WORKED FINE FOR MY WIFE FROM THE YEAR I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 2006 UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 3 MONTHS AGO. THIS SEEMS LIKE A SERIOUS BREACH OF SAFETY PROTOCOL WHEN AIR BAG IS NOT BEING ACTIVATED FOR A 119LB ADULT. I DID NOT ARGUE WITH RENTSCHLER SINCE THEY CONTACTED GM, FELT MOST EXPEDIENT TO CONTACT GM. SINCERELY, [XXX] IN SUMMARY, THE AIR BAG SENSOR INDICATOR WORKED FINE FOR NEARLY 9 YEARS THEN SUDDENLY IT STOPPED WORKING. GM / RENTSCHLER CLAIM THE AIRBAG SENSOR WORKING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS. THIS JUST SEEMS LIKE A VERY SERIOUS BREACH OF SAFETY PROTOCOL. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT A 119 LB ADULT WOULD NOT ACTIVATE THE AIRBAG SENSOR AND BE PROTECTED BY THE AIR BAG IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT. COINCIDENTALLY THE PROBLEM STARTED AFTER THE IGNITION SWITCH CHANGED PER RECALL. I AM NOT SAYING THIS DOES OR DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE AIRBAG / AIRBAG SENSOR ISSUE, JUST NOTING TIME FRAME OF EVENTS. REGARDS, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON. THE DEALER SAYS PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR IS DEFECTIVE. I BELIEVE THIS IS A PROBLEM IN JUST ABOUT ALL PONTIAC SOLSTICE VEHICLES AND SATURN SKY VEHICLES. FOR THIS REASON I BELIEVE GM SHOULD ANNOUNCE AN IMMEDIATE RECALL TO HAVE THIS DEFECT REPAIRED BEFORE INJURY OR DEATH IS CAUSED BY THEIR NEGLIGENCE.

PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR FAILED WITH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES ON THE CAR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR MY PASSENGERS AS WELL AS MYSELF. THE REPLACEMENT PART IS OVER 800.00 NOT INCLUDING LABOR TO INSPECT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND NOT TO INCLUDE INSTALLATION. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL !!!

PASSENGER AIR BAG SENSOR, INTERMITTENT FAILURE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE MY WIFE HAS BEEN SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. THIS IS A KNOWN AND COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE PONTIAC SOLSTICE. THE AIR BAG SENSOR DOES NOT ALWAYS RECOGNIZE A PASSENGER AND TURNS OFF WHILE PASSENGER IS SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT THROUGHOUT THE SOLSTICE COMMUNITY. THE AVERAGE REPAIR COST IS $600-$800 DOLLARS FOR A SAFETY PRODUCT !! THIS MUST BE ADDRESSED BY NHTSA BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED OR MAIMED BY THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT !!! THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR A MANUFACTURER TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW AN INFERIOR PRODUCT TO BE USED. THIS FAILURE HAS OCCURRED IN ALL DIFFERENT AGE AND MILEAGES IN THIS VEHICLE. THE SYSTEM MAY ALSO NOT RECOGNIZE A PASSENGER DEPENDING ON THEIR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION ON THE SEAT. A SIMPLE FIX IS A SOFTWARE FLASH TO "ALWAYS ON" OR A KEYED SWITCH LIKE OTHER VEHICLES WHERE THE AIRBAG CAN BE SWITCHED OFF IF REQUIRED. THIS ISSUE MAY CAUSE AS MANY DEATHS AND OR INJURIES AS THE IGNITION SWITCH RECALL WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND FORCE GM TO FIX THIS KNOWN DEFECT?

PASSENGER AIRBAG SEAT SENSOR HAS FAILED. NUMBER OF SOLSTICE OWNERS IN MY CAR CLUB HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE. EXPENSIVE DEALERSHIP REPAIR COST CONSIDERING THE VALUE OF THE CAR.