RoadVitals

1990 Chevrolet Corvette Airbags Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Airbags reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
16
Latest Sep 9, 2016
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
47%
of 34 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
0
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
1

What this page shows

Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1990 Chevrolet Corvette submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 16 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming airbag

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Sep 9, 2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1990 CHEVROLET CORVETTE. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE AIR BAG AND SEAT BELT WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000.

NHTSA ID
10905075
Incident
Sep 7, 2012
Mileage
100,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Jun 7, 2015
1 injury reported

MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING DOWN 1-20 AT 70 MPH WHEN THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON KNOWN TO US. I WAS DRIVING AND WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE CAR UNDER CONTROL AND GET IT STOPPED. THE AIRBAG INJURED MY LEFT ARM AND MY CHEST. IT FILLED THE INTERIOR WITH SMOKE, WHICH AFFECTED OUR BREATHING (MY WIFE HAS ASTHMA) AND VISION.

NHTSA ID
10723870
Incident
Jun 7, 2015
Mileage
23,767 mi
Airbags
Filed Feb 26, 2002

CONSUMER COMMENTS THAT SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE OF VEHICLE, THE DIAGNOSTIC ENERGY RESERVE MODULE (DERM) MALFUNCTIONED, WHICH IS PART OF THE AIR BAG RESTRAINT SYSTEM, CONSUMER WOULD LIKE TO BE REIMBURSED FOR HIS OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES. *JG

NHTSA ID
785626
Airbags
Filed Oct 30, 2001

CANNOT GET A REPLACEMENT PART FROM GMC . THEREFORE I AM FORCED TO DRIVE WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF MY AIR BAG.*AK

NHTSA ID
753902
Incident
Sep 10, 2001
Airbags
Filed Jun 20, 2001

COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE AIR BAG RESTRAIN SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTION. A LIGHT HAS COME ON THE DASH. I CAN'T SEEM TO GET A REPLACEMENT PART. I HAVE CONTACT GM . APPEARS GM. DOES NOT HAVE A VENDOR TO SUPPLY THE PART. GM CUSTOMER SERVICE 800-222-1020 EXT 57379 SERVICE NUMBER C04306084. MY CONCERN IS THE AIR BAG ACCORDING TO GM COULD DEPLOY AT ANY TIME. HOW MANY ADDITONAL CARS THAT GM MAKES HAS THE SAME COMPUTER MODULE THAT TODAY IS NOT AVAILABLE. I CAN'T SEEM TO GET THEM CONCERN.THEIR COMMENT TO ME IS IT WILL ONLY INFLATE FOR 20 SECONDS. 20 SECONDS IS A LONG TIME DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN.*AK

NHTSA ID
747175
Incident
May 1, 2001
Airbags
Filed Dec 11, 2000

I'VE READ THAT THERE IS A GROUNDING ISSUE IN THE AIR BAG WITH THIS TYPE/YEAR VEHICLE CAUSING WARNING LIGHT TO COME ON AND POSSIBLE SHUT DOWN OR THE SYSTEM. IS THIS A KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE? *AK

NHTSA ID
737633
Incident
Jan 20, 2000
Airbags
Filed Sep 26, 2000

DURING THE LIFETIME OF THE VEHICLE I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG SENSORS AT LEAST 5 TIMES. OTHERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM YET GM DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEFECT.*AK

NHTSA ID
732539
Incident
Sep 26, 2000
Airbags
Filed Jan 21, 1999

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT KEEP FLASHING. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD BY A MECHANIC THAT THERE WERE BAD CONNECTOR ON THE AIR BAG. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

NHTSA ID
833866
Incident
Jan 1, 1996
Airbags
Filed Apr 23, 1998

AIR BAG HAS NEVER WORKED SINCE PURCHASE (UNSPECIFIED).

NHTSA ID
534653
Incident
May 4, 1997
Airbags
Filed May 6, 1996

OTHER: AIR BAG DOESN'T WORK DUE TO FAILED DIAGNOSTIC ENERGY RESERVE MODULE. *DSH

NHTSA ID
504127
Incident
Feb 1, 1996
Airbags
Filed Mar 11, 1996

THE CORVETTE WAS SITTING ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR AND THE AIRBAG JUST DEPLOYED WITHOUT INCIDENT. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK

NHTSA ID
980482
Incident
Mar 11, 1996
AirbagsFuel system
Filed Sep 28, 1995

AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WAS STUCK DUE TO A DEFECTIVE ELECTRONIC MODULE THAT CONTROLS THE SYSTEM. *SD

NHTSA ID
487454
Incident
Sep 26, 1995
Airbags
Filed Sep 5, 1995

DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAG FAILURE, AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON, DEALER REPLACED AIR BAG INFLATOR MODULE. TT

NHTSA ID
971579
Incident
Aug 1, 1995
Airbags
Filed Aug 30, 1995

THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG HAS FAILED LIGHT COME ON THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A YEAR . TT

NHTSA ID
971441
AirbagsTransmission
Filed Aug 15, 1995

OIL COOLING LINES LEAK, CAUSING OIL TO COVER BOTTOM OF CAR/DRIP ON EXHAUST SYSTEM. *SD

NHTSA ID
483050
Incident
Aug 1, 1992
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed May 8, 1995

SEAT BELTS FAILED PRIOR TO RECALL (91V-143). *AK

NHTSA ID
964923
Incident
May 8, 1995

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .