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Pontiac Grand Am Air Bags Frontal Safety Report | Mar 15, 2005
Reported on Mar 15, 2005
| I WAS DRIVING ON THE EXPRESSWAY AT 70 MPH AND WITHOUT WARNING, MY DRIVERSIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED. I WAS IN SHOCK AND HAD TEMPORARY HEARING LOSS. BOTH OF MY LIPS WERE BLOODIED, I WAS BURNED ON MY NECK AND I STILL HAVE OCASSIONAL RINGING IN MY EARS. I DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT WHEN MY LINE OF VISION WAS CLEAR, I SAW I HAD MAINTAINED THE POSITION IN MY LANE AND CONTINUED TRAVELING. THEN, A FEW MINUTES LATER, MY PASSENGER- SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING. THANKFULLY, MY GIRLFRIEND WAS SLEEPING IN THE BACKSEAT. AGAIN I HAD TEMPORARY HEARING LOSS, BUT KEPT DRIVING UNTIL I GOT TO MY HOME. I CONTACTED GENERAL MOTORS DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY DID NOT FEEL THEY COULD HELP SINCE THEY HAD NOT HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. THERE WERE A SERIES OF PHONE CALLS BETWEEN GENERAL MOTORS, MY DAD AND ME. OUT OF THE BLUE IN ONE CONVERSATION, GENERAL MOTORS ASKED IF I HAD WATER ON MY FLOORBOARD AND WHEN I SAID THAT I DID, THEY SAID THE AIRBAGS PROBABLY DEPLOYED BECAUSE OF THIS AND IT WAS MY FAULT FOR NOT GETTING THAT FIXED. WHEN MY DAD ASKED WHAT THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE AIRBAGS AND IF THEY WERE AWARE THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM, THEY SAID IT WAS A ROUTINE QUESTION. SUBSEQUENTLY, A GENERAL MOTORS DEALERSHIP HAS CONCLUDED THAT WATER UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT CAUSE THE COMPUTER MODULE TO CORRODE. THEY ARE WILLING TO REPLACE THE AIRBAGS AND THE COMPUTER, BUT NOT FIX THEY WATER PROBLEM THAT THEY INDICATED MAY HAVE CAUSED THIS. WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS PROBLEM WITH INDEPENDENT MECHANICS AND HAVE SINCE RECEIVED TECHNICAL BULLETINS STATING THAT THE WATER PROBLEM IS INHERENT TO THIS VEHICLE. *AK | |
| Make: | Pontiac |
| Model: | Grand Am |
| Manufactured by: | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | 1 person(s) were injured. |
| Was a death reported? | 0 person(s) died. |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | AKRON OH |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 1G2NE52M9TC |
| Mileage: | 95500 miles. |
| Speed: | 70 MPH |
| Number of cylinders: | 6 |
| Vehicle type: | FWD |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS Fuel injection. |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
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