Pontiac Sunfire, Achieva, Grand Am, Cavalier, Skylark. Published by Transport Canada as 2003162 on 24 June 2003. System: Airbag.
What the notice says Certain vehicles, after being exposed to substantial amounts of water, may experience deployment of either the driver or passenger front airbag without a crash. The owner’s manual for these vehicles does not provide specific information about this situation. Inadvertent deployment of the driver and / or passenger …
Is your vehicle included? Check with your VIN at Transport Canada, or ask a dealer. This page is an independent copy of the notice, kept so you can see what changed after it was published. It is not the authority, and the authority’s own text is the one to act on.
What Transport Canada published
- Recall number
- 2003162
- Recall date
- 24 June 2003
- Make
- Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Buick
- Models
- Sunfire, Achieva, Grand Am, Cavalier, Skylark
- Model years
- 1996 to 1997
- Vehicle class
- Car
- System
- Airbag
- Raised as
- Safety TC
- Vehicles affected
- 224,528
- Register
- Canada — Transport Canada, Vehicle Recalls Database
Certain vehicles, after being exposed to substantial amounts of water, may experience deployment of either the driver or passenger front airbag without a crash. The owner’s manual for these vehicles does not provide specific information about this situation. Inadvertent deployment of the driver and / or passenger front airbag in a non-accident (non-impact) situation may cause damage to the surrounding vehicle environment (windshield / instrument panel), and create expensive vehicle repair, including replacement of the airbag module(s) and the Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM). In some instances, inadvertent deployment could cause minor injuries to vehicle occupants. Correction: GM will notify the owners of these 1996 and 1997 vehicles of the potential affect of water accumulating in the vehicle interior on the function of the airbag system (as included in the owner's manuals of 1998 and later model years vehicles).
The wording above is the department's own, as it stood in the monthly file this site last read. Vehicle counts are the sum of the counts published for each make and model the recall covers. To act on a recall, use the official notice: Transport Canada recall 2003162.
Pontiac elsewhere in this register
Pontiac is named on 332 notices in the copy of Transport Canada’s register held here, of which these are the nearest to this one in time.
- 2003165 · 2 July 2003 · Bonneville, Aurora, Deville · Fuel System
- 2003172 · 16 July 2003 · Venture, Silhouette, Montana · Seats And Restraints
- 2003205 · 29 August 2003 · Grand Prix · Brakes
- 2003217 · 5 September 2003 · Alero, Grand Am, Malibu · Lights And Instruments
- 2003037 · 19 February 2003 · Trailblazer Ext, Envoy XL, Rendezvous · Airbag
- 2003036 · 14 February 2003 · Rendezvous, Aztek · Steering
- 2003266 · 4 November 2003 · Aztek, Rendezvous · Fuel System
- 2003283 · 12 November 2003 · Park Avenue, Bonneville, Eighty-Eight · Engine
The same system: Airbag
734 notices in this register name Airbag. A defect that keeps returning under one heading is worth reading as a group rather than one notice at a time.
- 2003178 · 29 July 2003 · MPV · Airbag
- 2003118 · 30 April 2003 · Altima · Airbag
- 2003210 · 4 September 2003 · 360 Modena F1, 360 Modena · Airbag
- 2003224 · 10 September 2003 · Tiburon · Airbag
- 2003259 · 24 October 2003 · 5 Series · Airbag
- 2003045 · 21 February 2003 · Xterra, Altima · Airbag
Reading this against the source
This page is what Transport Canada published in the Vehicle Recalls Database, kept as it was read. The authority publishes only its current wording; if a notice is rewritten, the earlier version disappears there and is kept here. The whole register is at /canada, and how the reading is done is set out in the method.
What the words on this notice mean — the system it is filed under, and what the filing type says about who found the fault.
This register keeps an index of its own for every maker and every year it holds: Canadian recalls on a Pontiac: 332 in the register, and 350 Canadian vehicle recalls filed in 2003.
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Owners of these cars
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