On july 23, 2014 approximately 6:35p.m. I was on my way to church along with three other passengers. My sister was in the passenger seat and my grandson and the lady that live with me was in the back seat. Without warning there was a boom or explosion that cause me to briefly lose control of the car before coming to a stop. The car was filled with smoke and fume from the deployed airbags. My arms were chemically burned and knuckles on left hand from holding steering wheel. The passenger in front was complaining about wrists pain, anxiety and chest pain in one of her breast. My grandson and the lady riding in the back was not hurt but was checked at the emergency for inhalation and released. We were all checked and released afterward. I later got in touch with my insurance company that told me that it was a default. Then I later contact gm, they gave claim number and took information on the incident. Later they referred claim specialist, I have not heard from claim specialist concerning what to do.
1997 Saturn SL airbags problems
17 complaints (8% of all complaints for this car). 12 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 17
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- crashes
- 12
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Frontal12
- Frontal: sensor/control module1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Saturn SL airbags problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 1997 Saturn SL owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Driver went over a speed bump while turning into a parking space and hit the parking curb just slightly while braking. Both driver & passenger side air bags deployed.
My car was backed into in an accident which pushed the frond end back into the radiator support and buckled the hood. The car in front of me stopped as we were going down the street at about 25 MPH, then reversed at top speed into my front end. Neither airbag deployed.
Vehicle was in a frontal collision while driving at 25 MPH. Upon impact, neither driver's side nor passenger's side air bags deployed. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership.
Vehicle hit a curve at 10 MPH causing air bags to unexpectedly deploy. Please give any further details.
The defective air bag on the driver side failed to deploy properly in a head on collision. It only began to open about 1/4 of the way and stopped. As a result, I suffered severe injury to my liver, ribs, right leg and my head hit the windshield.
Vehicle was involved in a head-on collision at 35 MPH, and neither air bag deployed. Dealer was contacted.
While driving about 20 MPH on a road air bag detonated, but did not deploy.
Abs brakes failed resulting in multiple accidents, no deployment of both air bags during collision, passenger seat collapsed during impact injuries due to failures. Yh
Vehicle crashed into a telephone pole head-on, and there was no deployment of the driver's side or passenger's side air bags vehicle was totalled. Please provide any further information.
Questions about the 1997 Saturn SL airbags
Does the 1997 Saturn SL have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 17 complaints about the airbags of the 1997 Saturn SL, 8% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1997 Saturn SL airbags problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1997 Saturn SL airbags?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Saturn SL have bad airbags?
The Saturn SL model years with the most airbags complaints are 1995 (31 complaints), 1994 (20 complaints) and 1999 (20 complaints).
Other 1997 Saturn SL problems
Engine 38Electrical 31Seat belts 25Brakes 24Transmission 23Seats 17Tires 15Body 13Visibility 11Fuel system 10Steering 10Acceleration 9Suspension 6Lights 3Locks 3
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