Tl* the contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that her air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to wuerflein chevrolet buick gmc (2527 bridge ave, albert lea, mn 56007) to be repaired under the recall. Upon return of the vehicle, the contact discovered that the air bag warning light remained illuminated despite the repair. The contact called the same dealer back and was informed she had to pay a diagnostic fee to have the vehicle diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. *bf
2008 Pontiac Vibe airbags problems
48 complaints (76% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 90,000. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 48
- of this car's complaints
- 76%
- typical mileage
- 90,000
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 3
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Pontiac Vibe airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Pontiac Vibe airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Corolla, 2005-2008 Corolla Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation under high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.
- Risk
- An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Toyota will notify their owners. Pontiac Vibe owners will be notified by GM. Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly or sub-assembly, free of charge. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑888‑270‑9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are K1Q and K0Q. Pontiac owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑762‑2737. GM's number for this recall is N192273760.
Recall number 19V627000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Lexus SC vehicles manufactured August 3, 2007, to July 30, 2010, 2008 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured May 25, 2007, to December 21, 2007, 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and 2008 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to January 2, 2008. This is to address a safety defect in the passenger side frontal air bag inflator which may produce excessive internal pressure causing the inflator to rupture upon deployment of the air bag. This recall addresses both the passenger side frontal air bags that were originally installed in the vehicles, as well as replacement air bags that may have been installed as replacement service parts. A replacement air bag may have been installed, as one example, if a vehicle had been in a crash necessitating the replacement of the passenger side frontal air bag.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- The recall began on March 25, 2016 for Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners. The recall began on June 23, 2016 for GM owners. The respective dealers will either replace the front passenger air bag inflator or the entire front passenger air bag assembly depending on the model. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑800‑331‑4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1‑800‑762‑2737. This recall expands recall 15V‑285.
Recall number 16V127000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Lexus SC vehicles manufactured August 3, 2007, to July 30, 2010, 2008 Toyota Corolla vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 21, 2007, 2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to December 18, 2007, and 2008 Pontiac Vibe vehicles manufactured June 1, 2007, to January 2, 2008 that were originally sold, or ever registered, in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- The recall began on March 25, 2016 for Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners. The recall began on June 8, 2016 for GM owners. The respective dealers will either replace the front passenger air bag inflator or the entire front passenger air bag assembly depending on the model. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑800‑331‑4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1‑800‑762‑2737. This recall expands recall 15V‑286.
Recall number 16V128000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.
EA21002
What 2008 Pontiac Vibe owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Honolulu buick gmc located at 2945 n nimitz hwy, honolulu, hi 96819, was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available. *bf
I received a safety recall letter from pontiac in milwaukee, wisconsin dated october 2019 stating that the front passenger air bag assembly containing an inflator is defective. The air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation during high temperature conditions .what could happen is that a portion of the air bag material could be torn during deployment, or the bag plate could be damaged. Such damage during deployment could cause the air bag not to properly inflate, and this could increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash. The letter further states that parts are not currently available. A recent call to the pontiac customer assistance center confirmed that the parts are still not available to repair this vehicle. Due to this potential hazard I have not had anyone sit in the passenger side of my vehicle since the safely recall letter was sent to me almost nine months ago. In fact there was already one other safety recall on this same airbag some time ago that I had replaced at my local gm dealer in kingman, az. I am reporting this to you because I feel that way too much time has gone by without any part replacement available for this airbag .since this defect could increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash, I feel that this company has been unduly negligent in not providing a replacement part since the safety recall notice was sent to me in october 2019. Can anything be done about this? The gm safety recall # is n192273760.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (airbag) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called the dealer kingman chevrolet buick (address: 3730 stockton hill rd, kingman, az 86409; phone: (928) 757-4041) where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number :19v627000 (air bags) however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
I contacted gm about the recall and they told me that they don't have the part yet and when the get the part in they would contact me to replace it but that was in 2019 and never herd from them this very day.
Received letter from pontiac dated oct 2019 that front passenger airbag is defective and might not inflate and could injure person in a car crash. Repair parts were not ready in oct 2019. It is now seven months later. Are the parts still not ready? When will they be ready? Nothing has happened yet, but this is worrisome. I received the letter 10/21/2019. The dealer has no repair parts. It is seven months later.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Sullivan buick gmc, inc (777 w dundee rd, arlington heights, il 60004, (847) 505-0435) was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. An unknown dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was contacted several times and was unable to confirm when the part would be available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available. *bf
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 pontiac vibe. The contact stated received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 19v627000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. A dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.*dt
Questions about the 2008 Pontiac Vibe airbags
Does the 2008 Pontiac Vibe have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 48 complaints about the airbags of the 2008 Pontiac Vibe, 76% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2008 Pontiac Vibe airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 90,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Pontiac Vibe airbags?
Yes, 3 recalls: 19V627000, 16V127000, 16V128000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Pontiac Vibe have bad airbags?
The Pontiac Vibe model years with the most airbags complaints are 2009 (352 complaints), 2005 (174 complaints) and 2006 (119 complaints).
Other 2008 Pontiac Vibe problems
Acceleration 4Engine 4Seat belts 2Steering 2Tires 2Body 1Brakes 1Fuel system 1Suspension 1Transmission 1Visibility 1
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