This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have a 2013 Volt. Passenger Presence pad in the passenger front seat caused the "Airbag Service" warning light. It is very common. So many people have suffered from it. It cost over $1000. But it is not a recall.
The passenger side seat airbag sensor is malfunctioning. A message displaying -??Service Airbag-?? comes up and the airbag light comes on. This happens numerous times during a typical drive (around 20 minutes) The airbag is turned off while the message and light is displayed. This issue has been occurring for about a year or two now. Starting around 90k miles, currently has 111k miles. I-??ve done my research on this issue and many other Volt owners have this issue. Which is caused by a defect in the passenger side sensor mat in the seat that can fold over itself with normal use, causing the issue.
The airbag for the passenger seat is faulty and turns off and on, took it to the dealership and they said it was a $1000 to fix it. Said it was a bad wiring harness
According to NHTSA's own filing - Action PE19013 - GM's response to the action was to "establish a cost reduction program". I have now had this exact problem diagnosed, and repaired at a cost of $1,133. Neither GM, nor the Chevrolet dealership where I had the repair done had any information or provided and discounts or cost reduction. Either NHTSA has lied in its report, or GM has lied to NHTSA in order to close this incident. I should have the cost of this repair "reduced".
The passenger presence sensor module has developed a fault. The service airbag soon warning pops up when a front seat passenger gets out of the seat. I can manually recreate the problem by pressing down on the seat bottom cushion and then when I release pressure the warning reappears and then goes away after 10 seconds. I will now need to replace the module and get the vehicle reprogrammed, or find a junkyard seat and hope it doesn't have the same problem. You really should have required GM to do more on this issue when you investigated it! From what I understand, there is not a 'cost reduction program' for having the dealer replace this defective part. This seems to be a very common problem that has perhaps gone underreported, but is obviously going to happen given the design of the sensor pad where it develops a fatigue failure.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The passenger seat occupancy sensor fails was failing. The check airbag warning light would come on while driving with a passenger in the vehicle. This would disable the airbag (when the check airbag indicator light indicating that the passenger airbag is enabled switches to off.) this is a dangerous failure. If the car knows that the sensor has failed then the 'safe' condition should be to deploy the airbags or the 'seat occupied' condition should be 'latched true' until the vehicle stops. (a passenger cannot suddenly disappear when the car is moving at 35 or 40 mph). This happened repeatedly in 2020 and 2021. Vehicle was taken to dealer to address the issue - was told that the issue was resolved. Shortly afterwards the issue started again. Vehicle was taken back to the dealer April-2021 and I was told that the seat occupancy sensor had failed and needed to be replaced.
The passenger airbag seatbelt sensor faulty and gives notice on display. Intermittently stops turning on passenger airbag when someone is sitting in it. I has been doing this for about 3 years and does it everytime while driving. I have seen hundreds of posts online with the same issue. This is the second time I have filed this same complaint with no response.
Airbag warning light and passenger air bag. Was told by a dealer that it was the passenger detection sensor not working and needs a 1,000 dollar fix to replace the sensor. Air bag system will not enable with full size passenger in front seat.
The service airbag message appears randomly when in motion. The Chevy dealer states that the problem is the passenger presence system. The estimated cost to repair is $1,300.
Air bag light stays on. Replaced driver seat with no change. Chevy dealership advised the issue now is the passenger seat sensors and quoted me $1000 to fix. They also told me there is only one part available in the usa and they dont know if the holder will sell it. This puts my car and passengers in danger if there is an accident. Chevy needs to address/fix this.
Passenger front seat sensor for airbag system malfunctions, resulting in passenger airbag being turned off while adult passenger is in seat. This occurs when the vehicle is moving or stationary and both in town and on the highway. Dealer indicated this repair would cost nearly $1000 (~$500 in parts and over $400 labor).
The passenger detection sensor failed which affects functionality of passenger airbag. For some reason this wasn't covered covered under extended warranty.
Service passenger airbag warning came on continuously. Two trips to the dealer, first time they tried to fix by cleaning a connection $196 and it did not work. Second time they had to replace the passenger presence sensor $636.70. This was not covered under warranty I was told. Car had 68514 miles and was in service 4 years.
Passenger seat occupancy sensor intermittent failure. Should be added to investigation PE19013. Airbag light and service airbag message is on 7 out of 10 times the car is turned on and no passenger or item is in the passenger seat(while stationary). Light will turn off after several minutes of driving or applying force to the bottom of the empty passenger seat. Driving with a passenger the light is usually off, however sometimes it will come on with a passenger present and vehicle in motion, and can be resolved by the passenger shifting their weight a few times. Issue is too hard to demonstrate to dealer and would cost too much for me to bother repairing on my own. Other models from Chevrolet during that time period use the same sensor and have been recalled or are pending a recall. This problem first started when I purchased the car in 2016 but much more infrequently. It has become more and more common gradually ever since. Seat has not had anything spilled on it, or rain let in from open windows etc.
My airbag light on the dash has been on for a very long time now and I just read an article the other day that thousands of complaints have been made over this same issue. I have a snap-on scanner for reading obd2 ports on a large amount of vehicles and when I plug mine up to my Volt it tells me it is the sensor in the seat. I have already replaced this sensor once. The dealer tried to rob me in trying to charge me over $800 for this very simple repair. Needless to say it is out yet again and GM knows there are scores of problems with the Volt but they wont properly address them. I had a 2017 Volt that caught fire and burnt to the ground. What did they do about it? not a [xxx] thing. I sincerely hope the feds make them do something to address this vehicle as lives are on the line. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The passenger airbag sensor triggered a warning (vehicle in motion). Took vehicle to dealer and they tried the typical loose connection check, water damage check, etc. Removed sensor and tested it - not pulling any current, so must be bad and need replacement. Total cost to replace $1,200!! if it's not replaced, airbags are disabled to protect against accidental deployment. I decided to pass and pretend that the car was built in the 1970S (ie, no airbags and just relying on seatbelts).
Passenger airbag sensor, being triggered intermittently. Sensor is contained within the passenger seat. Sensor is question is called a passeneger presence system module.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Claremont, CA, USA