2009 Chevrolet Impala

TAKATA RECALL - I HAVE HAD MY VEHICLE SHUT OFF WHILE I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. THIS HAS OCCURRED AT LEAST 3 TIMES. GM IS AWARE AND HAS IGNORED MY REQUESTS FOR TWO YEARS. A FEW MONTHS AGO, GM ATTORNEY TOLD ME TO TAKE MY VEHICLE TO A GM DEALERSHIP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND THE RECALL REPAIRS WOULD BE DONE AT NO COST TO ME. I MADE HIM AWARE THAT MY VEHICLE HAD ALREADY BEEN SITTING AT A GM DEALERSHIP FOR MONTHS WAITING FOR THE REPAIR AND THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO REPAIR IT AND WILL NOT PROVIDE A RENTAL VEHICLE. PRIOR TO THE RECALL, I HAD NUMEROUS STEERING ISSUES AND HAD TAKEN IT TO GM DEALERSHIPS JUST TO HAVE THEM RETURN IT WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS. WHEN THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF, I WAS IN A BAD CRASH AND THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY, RESULTING IN ME GOING THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD.

MY VEHICLE'S IGNITION SWITCH SHUT OFF, WHICH CAUSED ME TO LOSE STEERING. WHEN I CRASHED, THE AIRBAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. I WAS DRIVING IN A LARGE PARKING LOT AND WENT OVER A SPEED BUMP. I WAS KNOCKED OUT BUT THE POLICE REPORT INDICATED THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF BRAKING OR STEERING. I TOOK MY IMPALA TO THE GM DEALERSHIP OVER 12 TIMES.

OCTOBER 2015, WHILE DRIVING DISPLAY CAME UP WITH MESSAGE "SERVICE AIR BAG" WITH ICON ALSO SHOWING ON DISPLAY. CHECKING INTO THIS MESSAGE I FOUND THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND THAT I CANNOT DEPEND ON HAVING AIR BAG PROTECTION IF IN AN ACCIDENT. CHECKING VARIOUS SOURCES ONLINE, FOUND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS AND THAT WHEN MANY SERIOUS ACCIDENTS OCCURED, NO AIR BAGS DEPLOYED . CALLED MY GM DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT PROBLEM COULD BE CAUSED BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROBLEMS AND COULD MEAN INSTALLING NEW AIR BAGS AT A COST OF $1200.00. WITH ALL THE CURRENT RECALLS FOR THE TAKADE AIR BAGS, WHY ARE THESE AIR BAG DEFECTS ON THE CHEVOLET IMPALA'S NOT BEING RECALLED. THEY PRESENT A REAL DANGER TO PASSENGERS IN THESE CARS. IN SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS ONLINE, EVEN AFTER THE CARS WERE SERVICED BY THE DEALERS, THE PROBLEMS REOCCURED. I AM AN 81 YEAR OLD FEMALE WITH OUT THE RESOURCES TO PAY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO, MAYBE, HAVE THE PROBLEM FIXED AND I AM SURE MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE IMPALA'S ARE IN THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCE. I FEEL THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSURE AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS SUCH.

SUMMARY: OCTOBER 19, 2015 VEHICLE SAFETY COMPLAINT AIR BAG SYSTEM ALARMING, AS AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON ALL THE TIME FOR ALL CONDITIONS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET OR A HIGHWAY, TURNING. AIR BAG ALARM LIGHT TURNED ON FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK. PREVIOUS CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IMPLEMENTED BY CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP ARE IN QUESTION AND NOT EFFECTIVE AS THE ISSUE HAS RETURNED. PREVIOUS INCIDENT REPORTED FOR SAME ISSUE JULY 2014 ODI NUMNER 10615989 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ISSUES WERE DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALERSHIP, DEALERSHIP IDENTIFIED FRETTING FAILURES, IMPLEMENTED CORRECTIVE ACTIONS. DEALER IS CHARGING SERVICE FEES FOR SAFETY RELATED AIR BAG FAILURES, THE DEALER SHOULD NOT BE CHARGING FEES FOR REPAIRS, THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE TREATED AS A RECALL. THE DEALER SHOULD NOT BE PASSING COST OF REPAIRS TO THE CUSTOMER FOR VITAL SAFETY SYSTEMS OF THE EQUIPMENT.

I TOOK THE CAR TO HANK GRAFF CHEVROLET IN DAVISON, MI FOR WARRANTY WORK AND THE SERVICE AIRBAG SOON LIGHT WAS ON. THEY REPLACED SEATBELT TENSIONER ON THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE LIGHT REMAINED OFF FOR A MONTH. NOW THE LIGHT IS ON AGAIN AND THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I BELIEVE THAT GM SHOULD STAND BEHIND THESE SAFETY MECHANISMS REGARDLESS OF ANY WARRANTY. I WAS TOLD THAT IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY IF THE WARNING LIGHT IS ON, YET I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO PAY FOR A PROBLEM WITH A SAFETY DEVICE INTENDED TO LAST THE LIFETIME OF THE CAR. GM CANNOT IGNORE FAULTY SAFETY EQUIPMENT LIKE THEY IGNORED THE FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES.