General Motors Corp.: Air Bags
General Motors Corp. reported this defect to federal regulators on Jun 29, 1998 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 675,302. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. BECAUSE OF CERTAIN CALIBRATIONS IN THE AIR BAG'S SENSING AND DIAGNOSTIC MODULE, AN INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT COULD OCCUR IN A LOW SPEED CRASH OR WHEN AN OBJECT STRIKES THE FLOOR PAN.
The risk
AIR BAGS DEPLOY WITH GREAT FORCE AND CAN SERIOUSLY INJURE UNRESTRAINED OCCUPANTS WHO ARE TOO CLOSE TO THEM.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL RECALIBRATE THE AIR BAG SENSING AND DIAGNOSTIC MODULE.
4 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier | 540 | 13 | 25 | 70 |
| 1997 Pontiac Sunfire | 190 | 9 | 8 | 29 |
| 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier | 503 | 13 | 10 | 58 |
| 1996 Pontiac Sunfire | 201 | 10 | 11 | 30 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 98V146000.
Full record for the 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →