GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

No fix yet.



GM Recall #:
N140877

NHTSA Recall #:
2014-568

Date Issued:
Feb 11, 2015

Recall Title:

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)

Recall Description:

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles and 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles. The supplemental restraint system (SRS) circuits are susceptible to internal shorting. The electrical short may create an abnormal current flow and increased heat which can damage the circuits. This could result in an inadvertent deployment of the front airbags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

Safety Risk Description:

Inadvertent deployment of the airbags or the seat belt pretensioners may increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a vehicle crash.

Repair Description:

All owners that have not had recall 13030 performed are strongly encouraged to do so and not wait for the final remedy to be deployed for this recall. The replacement ECU parts needed for the final remedy are not expected to be available until the latter part of 2015. Vehicles that had a noise filter installed as the remedy under recall 13030 still need to have the air bag control module replaced under recall 14877 free of charge.
Recall Status: INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE

Thanks for sharing! I was periodically checking our VIN after the news broke about this and finally found the recall showed up.

Keep your eye on the mailbox everybody, so GM can tell you that they can't fix it for quite some time.

What do you guys think I should do?

1. Keep driving, don't do anything different.
2. Disconnect the bags.
3. Park the Vibe, drive a different car. Wife just bought a Volt, I've got her Turbo Sport New Beetle ready for sale... or to drive.

Don't get me wrong, I have lots of experience with driving old cars of questionably mechanical condition. However, the prospect of a bag face injury has me a little trepidatious.

Next week my car goes in to finally address the other two airbag related recalls. I thought I was going to be done with it. I don't know if this recall offers any more risk than the other two I haven't had addressed yet. I guess I chose option 1, but that is in no way intended to sway your decision.

Just checked the 03 GT on http://www.my.gm.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; where my cars are registered and it shows up now as an incomplete recall. So this is the third airbag recall on it. Oh well, I'll just keep driving it.

With the prospect of potential injury, and death considering an unexpected deployment could occur while I or my passenger is unbelted in the car, I would expect GM to be more accommodating. With the last recall, they provided me with a rental car until the repair could be made, and I will be expecting the same thing again here. I encourage you to request the same - it's a serious and dangerous fault in the cars, and GM knows they are liable, hence the recall.

I got the letter today. It is telling me that my Vibe is involved in recalls 13030 and 14877. Parts are already available for the 13030 recall but not for the 14877. So, I rather wait for all the parts to be available so I do everything at once.

I just checked my GM page, and this recall has been removed from my 03 GT. It now says no recalls outstanding on GM and the NHTSA website when I ran my VIN. So did they drop it until the parts are ready, or drop it entirely?

Still showing on mine... Not sure why they would just drop the notification. Database problem maybe? But if it's in both places, hmm...

trb wrote:I just checked my GM page, and this recall has been removed from my 03 GT. It now says no recalls outstanding on GM and the NHTSA website when I ran my VIN. So did they drop it until the parts are ready, or drop it entirely?

Mine still shows. Did you get the recall letter? I did. Well, my brother in law did (he was the original purchaser). I haven't bothered to go see the dealer yet.

No, haven't received a letter this year. I got one for the inflator recall last year and had that done. Maybe they are weeding them out by VIN numbers or something. Wish I had copied a screen shot of it before it was removed, but I will check with my dealer and see if they can explain what is going on, or call GM.

trb wrote:No, haven't received a letter this year. I got one for the inflator recall last year and had that done. Maybe they are weeding them out by VIN numbers or something. Wish I had copied a screen shot of it before it was removed, but I will check with my dealer and see if they can explain what is going on, or call GM.

Be forewarned, Takata can't guarantee the replacement air bags won't have issues.

Nasmfell wrote:Be forewarned, Takata can't guarantee the replacement air bags won't have issues.

This is correct. No one knows what the issue actually is yet, including Takata.

This one's been added to my VIN, even though the date is earlier than the one posted.

Of course, no remedy.



GM Recall #:
N140491

NHTSA Recall #:
2014-301

Date Issued:
Jul 24, 2014

Recall Title:

FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG INFLATOR

Recall Description:

The Pontiac Vibe was manufactured by New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), a joint venture between Toyota and GM. Toyota has decided that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain 2003 and 2007 model year Pontiac Vibe vehicles. As a result, GM is conducting a safety recall. Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the front passenger airbag inflator could have been assembled with improperly manufactured propellant.

Safety Risk Description:

Improperly manufactured propellant could cause the inflator to rupture and the front passenger airbag to deploy abnormally in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the occupant.

Repair Description:

Dealers are to replace the front passenger air bag inflator.

Recall Status: INCOMPLETE. REMEDY NOT YET AVAILABLE

I got the letter in the mail for recall N140491 last Thursday.

The letter I received said not to use the passenger seat until fixed. It also said that parts were not available to fix the issue.

As we are a family of five with only one car going on holidays this Friday, I called GM customer support that night (I was surprised to discover they're opened quite late in the evening.)

After explaining the situation, the representative offered to call the nearest dealer and find a solution. Options were a loaner or finding the parts somewhere. I was distressed as both were probably not going to work as the part was probably back-ordered as the letter said and a loaner for my Vibe would not enable to me tow my pop-up tent for which my Vibe is equipped with a custom receiver and a transmission cooler.

I was ready to disconnect the passenger air bag until we're back from vacation but I was surprised to receive a call back the next day from the representative explaining that all I had to do is schedule a appointment with the dealer by talking to a specific person in the service department.

Unfortunately, it was a long week-end and they closed before I could make that appointment. This morning I called just as they were opening and got an appointment at 2PM.

I just came back home. Recall done. Had the oil changed too. They even washed the car, vacuumed the carpet and seats and armored-all the tires and the interior at no charge (nice touch but the job was not pristine but with my three kids, I don't care much about the cleanliness of the car. :)

Lesson learned: GM customer service does not suck. At least Dev from customer service in Canada is excellent. In fact, I need to call back to make sure his boss knows.

cyth

I'm going in on the 13th for mine.

I was treated like crap from GM 800 hotline. Talking to me like I was stupid. They just told me what I already know. The recall says, Parts not available, Ya tell me something I don't know. What If I was going to go on vacation with 4 adults and the car packed up. No, we cannot sit 3 across the back. GM told me to call the dealer or put me on a conference call. I was so sick of the GM hotline person. I said, " I'll call myself." She gave me a reference #. Hell I have been driving the car 2 months since this issue came on the news for the whole country. Now you send a recall notice..."no part availability... Don't sit in front". The dealer says, service manager on vacation . I just want to know, can I get payed back for the rental I will NOW need. I guess that's a can of worms no one wants to open. Dealership said will back Wednesday when Service Mgr. returns. Ha...If they say bring it in...bet it's a dog and pony show and they won't change the airbag unless they get the magic genie to work ...because parts don't just magically appear when not available. Especially since Honda did their recall 1st. Also I do not want to be the 1st to get it done in my area. They have a habit of making mistakes on the simplest of repairs. Can I disconnect the passenger airbag easily ????? I know there are wires going to the seat. That if both of them are disconnected, the airbag warning light comes on like CEL.

cythraul wrote:I got the letter in the mail for recall N140491 last Thursday.

The letter I received said not to use the passenger seat until fixed. It also said that parts were not available to fix the issue.

As we are a family of five with only one car going on holidays this Friday, I called GM customer support that night (I was surprised to discover they're opened quite late in the evening.)

got my notice last week to about the recall -- also in the same boat with a family so driving with no passenger isn't an option.

I'll have to give them a call and see what they can do

Got mine too, looks like we're taking our other car on outings now

Edit: Just called my dealer and they made an appointment for me next Monday. Maybe this won't be so bad.

Edit2: Got a call back from the dealer, canceling the appointment. The person I talked to said they would send another letter when the airbags are actually in stock.

Looks like the parts may now finally be available. I received a letter from GM today (14877-airbag control module). Now hopefully the local Buick dealer (former seller of Pontiac) has the part in stock...

Today I figured I would check the GM recall site.

Finally says parts are now available for the air bag control module. No letter in the mail yet...

Now I have to figure out where to take it. Last dealer destroyed the dash trying to put on the filter harness...

Got my letter today, car's going in on Monday. This is for the first recall.

GM Recall #:
N140491

That one's not ready yet, though.

Good to hear- I was starting to think they were waiting for our 10+ year old cars to die before they had to replace the airbag...

I just got my letter today. My srs light came on awhile back. It threw a code of B1181 which is a D squib circuit short which is often a failure in the steering wheel clock spring or in the connections before or after it. I removed the fuse for the system and I'm seriously considering removing the airbags all together. I am considering doing some auto cross events next spring with the car and plan on doing a steering wheel swap with an after market wheel, as well as other mods. I think the SRS system is just a nuisance.

And I meant plug for the system not the fuse! Been a long day under my dash looking for an issue with the Map light wiring. Sorry!

Car went in today, recalls done! Interestingly, when I picked up the car and checked the invoice, it listed both 14877 (driver's bag module) as completed, as well as 14491 (passenger air bag inflator module) being done. When I called on Friday, they told me that only 877 would be done. Not sure how they were able to do 491, but it's on there. Both recalls are still on the GM vin check, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Car went in at 8:30am, was completed at 12:42pm. Book time on 877 is .6, 491 is 1.1.

Got my letter for the recall 10/28 and the Vibe is at the dealer today!

Fixed mine myself today!

20151103_161051 by Tim Robbins, on Flickr

Yanked both bags out! I don't have to worry about anymore pesky recalls now!

I do not live in a humid area where the air bar canisters would rust. ...aka well into snow country north of the mason dixon. But I WAS ALSO THINKING OF DISCONNECTING THE AIR BAG or ignoring this till next year . Then circumstances changed. Concerning THE LATEST PASSENGER air bag recall 14491. I got mine because I contacted the dealer again in person. Said, "tell me something I do not know." Turns out they have on file a special notice only seen thru their computers. "... Availability will be the 2nd quarter of 2016." . The notice goes on to say, "special circumstances an air bag can be special ordered." I have a special circumstance and they got me the bag next day and supposedly replaced it on my only day I could bring it in. Did I say I don't trust GM or 99% of their dealers?!? Job completed in an hour. Hope it's a "safe one". It's up to you to determine what you think is a special circumstance...and if they agree.But at least it would appear it's done for now. But Appearances can be false

liquorboxracing wrote:Fixed mine myself today!

20151103_161051 by Tim Robbins, on Flickr

Yanked both bags out! I don't have to worry about anymore pesky recalls now!

That seems....unsafe...why would you just not go in for a free fix?

by mbz321 » Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:51 pm That seems....unsafe...why would you just not go in for a free fix?

I guess it's a matter of perspective for me. How many recalls have the air bag system in these cars had? Aren't we up to 8 or 9 now?? Just how safe are the air bags? I understood the first couple recalls. It was a new platform, an all new product, it's inevitable that there would be problems, but after the fifth and sixth recall? Come on! I would have thought if the system was worth anything to begin with it could have been sorted out by now. My car is 12 years old, and I drive it every day. I have a tough time driving this little car as much as I do knowing that there WERE two bombs inside the car with me that could decide to go off in my face whenever they wanted to. To me that is what sounded unsafe. I did what I felt was right for me!

Got my module replaced today...only took about an hour. Was a $400 part on the invoice!

DRIVER OR PASSENGER SIDE ???

jasonvibe wrote:DRIVER OR PASSENGER SIDE ???

The module is only one thing right? I know they replaced the wiring harness and passenger inflator from the earlier recall.

YOU are missing the question here. Depending on YEAR ....it's both or just passenger.
EX: 2005 is just passenger

Which are you ?

jasonvibe wrote:YOU are missing the question here. Depending on YEAR ....it's both or just passenger.
EX: 2005 is just passenger

Which are you ?

2003.

I got my letter about the passenger side airbag safety recall in July. The recall number listed is 15406. I did not do it right away but called a dealer nearby and setup the process about 2 weeks after getting the letter. Weeks went by with no callback so after about almost 2 months called the dealer back and they could not even find the original order and nothing had been ordered. I assumed the parts were on backorder ad that was the reason for the delay but did not expect the dealer to screw up and lose the entire recall order.

Now it's on order but they cannot even say when it will arrive - apparently when they order these from GM their system does not show when the parts will be in, if they are on backorder or anything. If that is true really bad service on the part of GM.

In the meantime the letter says not to drive the car in the meantime. Really?!

blue_can wrote:I got my letter about the passenger side airbag safety recall in July. The recall number listed is 15406. I did not do it right away but called a dealer nearby and setup the process about 2 weeks after getting the letter. Weeks went by with no callback so after about almost 2 months called the dealer back and they could not even find the original order and nothing had been ordered. I assumed the parts were on backorder ad that was the reason for the delay but did not expect the dealer to screw up and lose the entire recall order.

Now it's on order but they cannot even say when it will arrive - apparently when they order these from GM their system does not show when the parts will be in, if they are on backorder or anything. If that is true really bad service on the part of GM.

In the meantime the letter says not to drive the car in the meantime. Really?!

Did you go through a Buick/GMC Dealer (that likely used to sell Pontiac)? Mine had plenty of parts on hand...If you used a Chevy dealer, I'd imagine they wouldn't stock the parts normally.

mbz321 wrote: Did you go through a Buick/GMC Dealer (that likely used to sell Pontiac)? Mine had plenty of parts on hand...If you used a Chevy dealer, I'd imagine they wouldn't stock the parts normally.

Yes good point - did not really think of that. You are correct - It is actually a Chevy dealer. Not a lot of Buick/GMC dealers near to me anymore - the place I bought my car closed down very soon after I bought the car. There was another place quite close to me where I used to go to for any recall stuff and they did the PCM changeout. Unfortunately they have now become another dealership - possibly Chevy.

I picked the particular place I did as it is close to the business of someone I know (within walking distance) so i was hoping to drop off the car and walk to his office and stay there until the car was ready. It did not occur to me that a Chevy place is less likely to have parts on hand. Having said that the Vibe is not a popular car in SD - very rarely see another one around - so not sure how much demand there is in general for Vibe parts from owners.

My recall was done at a Chevy dealership.

Not a great idea removeing the air bags IMHO. I had a head on colision with my old G5.The air bag really came in handy for me.
After the G5 I bought the Vibe. Just had 2 recalls done on my G6 & the fuel vent solonoid replaced while it was there,it was throwing the code.
I wasn't in the mood to drop the gas tank in the driveway,so I had them do it.Since Im on vacation & got the notice I'll proably get the air bag recall done next on the Vibe. My dealer is still there but Buick/GMC now.

Are GM dealers doing the recalls since it was sold by GM? My 03 has incomplete status for both the infiltrator and module.

BenWA wrote:Are GM dealers doing the recalls since it was sold by GM? My 03 has incomplete status for both the infiltrator and module.

Yes, you'll need to bring it to a GM dealer. About as far as Toyota gets involved is to decide the cars should be recalled. GM handles notifying the customers and performing the repairs.

Any GM dealer should be able to assist with the repairs, it doesn't necessarily have to be one that sold Pontiacs once upon a time. I plan on taking it to my Chevrolet dealer for the module replacement.

ColonelPanic wrote:

BenWA wrote:Are GM dealers doing the recalls since it was sold by GM? My 03 has incomplete status for both the infiltrator and module.

Yes, you'll need to bring it to a GM dealer. About as far as Toyota gets involved is to decide the cars should be recalled. GM handles notifying the customers and performing the repairs.

Any GM dealer should be able to assist with the repairs, it doesn't necessarily have to be one that sold Pontiacs once upon a time. I plan on taking it to my Chevrolet dealer for the module replacement.

Thanks for the reply. I did an online appointment for Tuesday morning at a local Chevy dealer.

Blah. The Chevy dealer called and asked for the VIN #, saying they can do the recall on some GMs but not others. After a couple minutes on hold, they said no they can't because they didn't sell Pontiacs. She told me to contact another nearby dealer that should be able to do the recall work. I submitted a service request online, but it's not a confirmed appointment system like the other dealer has. So maybe they'll do it, maybe they won't. It might just be the dealers are being lazy and don't want to take the time to do recalls on a 13 year old car and not make any money from it. I might have to find a smaller town dealer to take it to. Smaller towns seem to have better service than bigger dealers. That's my experience with Ford dealers, anyway.

liquorboxracing wrote:I just got my letter today. My srs light came on awhile back. It threw a code of B1181 which is a D squib circuit short which is often a failure in the steering wheel clock spring or in the connections before or after it. I removed the fuse for the system and I'm seriously considering removing the airbags all together. I am considering doing some auto cross events next spring with the car and plan on doing a steering wheel swap with an after market wheel, as well as other mods. I think the SRS system is just a nuisance.

I am now dealing with the same issue. They fixed the 13030 recall. The light came on. They just fixed the 14877 recall Friday and are refusing to fix it as its saying B1181 code - to replace my airbag and coil which is now $1,000 bucks. Not sure what to do now...

Has anyone had this same issue?

BenWA wrote:Blah. The Chevy dealer called and asked for the VIN #, saying they can do the recall on some GMs but not others. After a couple minutes on hold, they said no they can't because they didn't sell Pontiacs. She told me to contact another nearby dealer that should be able to do the recall work. I submitted a service request online, but it's not a confirmed appointment system like the other dealer has. So maybe they'll do it, maybe they won't. It might just be the dealers are being lazy and don't want to take the time to do recalls on a 13 year old car and not make any money from it. I might have to find a smaller town dealer to take it to. Smaller towns seem to have better service than bigger dealers. That's my experience with Ford dealers, anyway.

The second dealer called this morning and said they had to order the parts. Due to the holiday, it'll be early next week. I told them they can call me when the parts come in so we can schedule an appointment then. The car has waited 13 years/146k for the fix, it can wait another week/50-100 miles.

Going to get my 14491 recall fixed on New Year's Eve.

It's easy to see how GM ended up in so much trouble over botched vehicle recalls. Early summer the airbag dash light came on in my 2005 Vibe Base. That day I looked on genvibe and learned of the recall. 4 days later, I received the notice telling me what I learned on this site. I've been waiting, as advised, for notice that they had a "remedy". 3 days ago I was bored, so I called Pontiac's 1-800 number. I was given the same line of bologna about no remedy yet known. The recall states that the passenger seat is unsafe for use until the fix is made. I told the women I have a family of 4 and this is our only vehicle. I asked if GM would provide a rental car until they figured this out. Within 2 minutes she had the GM dealer a mile away from my house on the phone. The service writer told me "we need to look at the car, and order parts if needed. We don't have the right parts in stock". Appointment was made for the next day, and I was told it would take about 1.5 hours. As soon as I returned home the phone rang, and the dealer told me the passenger inflator was in fact bad and would have to be replaced. I asked how long it would take to get the parts. He said, Oh we have them in stock. Your car will be ready in two hours. An hour later he called and said "your airbag light is on, and it is not caused by the recall". He told me it would be $110 to diagnose it. If i didn't have it fixed, I would pay the $110. If I had it fixed, they would apply the $110 to the total bill. I told him no, money was tight, please just fix the recall. Now I search more and find out that the airbag module was triggered by the problem with the airbag inflator. The service writer at the dealer would surely have seen this hundreds of times over the last 6 months. WHEN YOU CALL IN FOR ANSWERS ON THIS, DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. I will call back on Monday and start the hassle of getting GM to cover the cost of the airbag light issue. I hate it when I'm fed caca and told it is chocolate pudding.

Just made the appointment to have mine done and they are giving me a loaner which is cool. My airbag light came on a couple months ago so I hope this solves that too as I want to sell the car soon.