1996 Pontiac Grand Am

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM THE MANUFACTURER, WHICH STATED THAT THERE WAS AN UPDATE TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL REGARDING SPONTANEOUS AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT IF THE AIR BAG MODULE GETS WET. THREE WEEKS LATER, WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT AIR BAG SPONTANEOUSLY DEPLOYED. FOUR DAYS LATER, THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED. BOTH FAILURES OCCURRED IN DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE COMPANY WOULD NOT ASSUME ANY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 140,000. UPDATE 09/10/08 *CW UPDATED 09/16/08 *JB

I WAS GOING TO WORK AND STARTED MY CAR. THE AIRBAG ON THE DRIVERS SIDE EXPLODED, KNOCKING ME BACK INTO THE SEAT, KNOCKING OFF MY GLASSES AND NAME TAG, LOOSENED 2 TEETH, GAVE ME ABRASIONS TO FACE, FILLED THE CAR WITH SMOKE AND KNOCKED ME UNCONSCIOUS FOR A FEW MOMENTS. I WAS NOT IN GEAR AT THE TIME AND WAS NOT TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY (WHICH IS A GOOD THING BECAUSE I COULD HAVE BEEN IN A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT), I WAS JUST SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. I HAVE CONTACTED MY DEALER AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS, NO RECALLS, NOTHING. IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR ME TO REPLACE AND CANNOT DRIVE MY CAR ANYMORE. I WANT THE AIRBAG REPLACED AT NO COST TO ME BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS MANUFACTURES DEFECT. OTHER THAN A FEW PROBLEMS WITH THE LIGHTS AND AIR CONDITIONING NOT WORKING I HAVE LOVED THIS CAR AND WOULD STILL BE DRIVING IT IF I COULD GET THE AIRBAG REPLACED FREE. CAN ANYONE OUT THERE HELP? I DID RECEIVE A NOTICE THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM BUT NO RECALLS. HELP!!! *TR

06/05 WATER UNDER THE DASH MADE ME THINK THE WINDSHIELD WAS LEAKING-AN AUTO GLASS DEALER DETERMINED IT WAS NOT LEAKING AND AGREED TO TAKE OUT THE CARPET-HE DISCOVERED THE FIREWALL WAS NOT SEALED PROPERLY FROM THE FACTORY- I PAID HIM TO SEAL IT & DRY & REPLACE THE CARPET...09/07 I HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE ALL THE ALARM LIGHTS ON THE DASH COMING ON---AFTER TURNING OFF &RESTARTING THE CAR--THE ONLY LIGHT LEFT ON WAS THE AIR BAG LIGHT----06/17/08 I RECEIVED AN 'OWNER MANUAL SUPPLEMENT' TO ADD TO MY OWNERS MANUAL TELLING ME THE "AIR BAG CONTROLLER" MAY OR MAY NOT DEPLOY IN A CRASH OR EVEN WITHOUT WARNING....THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT ...THERE ARE 1000'S OF THE THESE TIME BOMBS GOING DOWN THE SAME HIGHWAYS WE ARE TRAVELING-GM NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL & REPLACE THESE---GM IS NOT ABLE TO NOTIFY EVERY OWNER OF THIS PROBLEM AFTER 12 YEARS-PEOPLE ARE DRIVING THESE VEHICLES 60 AND 70 MILES AN HOUR DOWN THE HIGHWAYS & THEIR AIR BAG MAY DEPLOY WITHOUT WARNING--THE POTENTIAL FOR HORRIFIC ACCIDENTS EVEN DEATHS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE INEVITABLE-PLEASE FORCE GM TO TAKE RECALL NOT PRINT INSERTS FOR THE OWNERS MANUALS. *TR

THERE IS WATER ON ALL FOUR FLOORS OF MY CAR (FRONT DRIVER AND PASSENGER/BACK SEAT TWO BOTH PASSENGER SIDES). THE REAR LEFT FLOOR HAS PARTICULARLY HEAVY WATER SATURATION. MY AIR BAG LIGHT HAS ALSO STAYED ON FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS. YESTERDAY, I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM GM INDICATING THAT THE AIR BAG CONTROLLER ON THE 1996 PONTIAC GRAND AM IS MOUNTED ABOVE THE FLOOR PAN BENEATH THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, AND THAT IF THE VEHICLE IS EXPOSED TO SIGNIFICANT WATER ENTERING THE INTERIOR AND SOAKING THE CARPET, THE AIR BAG CONTROLLER CAN BE SOAKED AND DAMAGED. THE DAMAGED CONTROLLER CAN MAKE THE AIR BAGS DEFLATE, EVEN WITHOUT IMPACT OR CRASH. CONVERSELY, THE AIR BAGS MAY NOT DEPLOY AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE CONTROLLER DAMAGE. THIS LETTER WAS SENT BY GM AS AN OWNER MANUAL SUPPLEMENT AND THEY WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT IS CLEARLY A PROBLEM. AT THIS POINT, NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED. BECAUSE I AM UNEMPLOYED, I HAVE NO MONEY TO REPAIR THE CAR, AND AM SCARED TO DRIVE IT. HENCE, I NOW HAVE NO TRANSPORTATION AS WELL AS NO MONEY OR JOB. GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. IF THEY ARE AWARE ENOUGH OF A PROBLEM AS TO NOTIFY OWNERS OF THIS CAR, THEY SHOULD BE PAYING FOR REPAIRS TO A CAR THAT IS SATURATED WITH WATER. *TR