RoadVitals

2001 Pontiac Bonneville 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.
11
Latest Feb 9, 2019
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.
9%
of 129 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.
4
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
3

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 2001 Pontiac Bonneville submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 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

Airbags
Filed Feb 9, 2019
Crash reported1 injury reported

MY SON WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND HIS AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY.

NHTSA ID
11175875
Incident
Feb 8, 2019
Mileage
178,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Oct 20, 2014
Crash reported1 injury reported

MY SON WAS THE PASSENGER IN A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT AND HIS EYEBALL WAS SEVERED BY THE AIRBAG. MY SON RECEIVED HIS PROSTHETIC EYE FOR HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10648960
Incident
May 29, 2012
Airbags
Filed Aug 7, 2008

AIR BAG LIGHT KEPT COMING ON, WAS ADVISED THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT IS WITHIN MANUFACTURE STANDARDS. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, THUS WHY DO I HAVE TO SPEND 542.00 TO HAVE A DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAG REPLACED? *TR

NHTSA ID
10237367
Incident
Jun 20, 2008
Mileage
97,619 mi
Airbags
Filed Mar 20, 2007

I OWN A 2001 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE SLE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW. THE CAR HAS 75,796 MILES ON IT AS OF TODAY. THIS CAR HAS NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN COMING ON LATELY. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND AFTER PAYING $84.19 FOR A TEST TO BE RUN ON THE SYSTEM THEY TOLD ME THE FOLLOWING. THE CLOCKSPRING ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $257.48 PLUS TAX. IF THIS DID NOT TURN OFF THE SENSOR THEN THE AIR BAG ITSELF WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT AN ADDITIONAL ESTIMATED COST OF $887.04. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT WHEN THE SENSOR LIGHT WAS ON THE AIR BAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY. I FEEL THAT PARTS AS SIGNIFICANT AS THESE SENSORS SHOULD HAVE UNLIMITED WARRANTY, AND MORE INFORMATION RELAYED TO THE CONSUMER. IMAGINE THE NUMBER OF CARS ON THE ROAD TODAY WITH THAT LIGHT ON WHO ARE UNAWARE THAT THE AIR BAG IS INOPERATIVE. *AK

NHTSA ID
10185612
Incident
Mar 12, 2007
Mileage
75,790 mi
AirbagsEngineSteering
Filed Nov 11, 2006

I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS, AIRBAG SENSOR FRONT, STEERING NOISE 4TH TIME, AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER NOISY. *JB

NHTSA ID
10173190
Incident
Oct 28, 2006
Airbags
Filed Sep 26, 2003
Crash reported1 injury reported

WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH AND WHEN TRYING TO AVOID A DEER IN THE ROAD VEHICLE ROLLED OVER. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND CONSUMER SUSTAINED NECK AND HAND INJURIES. *AK

NHTSA ID
10040752
Incident
Sep 22, 2003
Mileage
39,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Sep 15, 2003

AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. DEALER INDICATED THAT THE AIR BAG MODULE MUST BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $1200. THE CAR WAS BOUGHT NEW BY ME AND NOW HAS 84,000 MILES ON IT. THIS MODULE WAS ALREADY REPLACED UNDER WARRENTY AT 20,000 MILES IN JULY, 2001. DEALER INDICATES THAT AIR BAG WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT IT BEING REPLACED. PONTAIC CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS CALLED AND THEY BASICALLY SAID WE ARE SORRY BUT YOU HAVE EXHAUSED THE WARRENTY PERIOD ON THIS ITEM. WHEN I ASKED IF I SHOULD EXPECT TO REPLACE THIS EVERY 2 YEARS, THEY SAID IT SHOULD NOT FAIL IN THE FUTURE BUT DID NOT OFFER TO REPLACE ITEM. SINCE THIS IS A SAFETY ITEM THAT HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE NOW, I AM CONCERNED AS TO THRE AIR BAG SYSTEM RELIABILITY.

NHTSA ID
10038917
Incident
Sep 3, 2003
AirbagsVisibility
Filed Aug 21, 2003

I HAVE A 2001 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE. THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT DISPLAYS CHECK AIR BAG. THE DEALER SAYS IT HAS TO BE REPLACED FOR $650. THE SAME DAY THE LEFT REAR WINDOW FELL DOWN AND THE COST TO REPAIR IS OVER $500. NEITHER THE AIRBAG NOR THE WINDOW HAVE EVER BEEN USED. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OR OFF THE ROAD. TWO PARTS FAILED FOR NO REASON. *AK

NHTSA ID
10033262
Incident
Aug 21, 2003
Mileage
50,500 mi
Airbags
Filed Mar 6, 2003

AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON IN 2001 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE. DEALER DIAGNOSTICS DETERMINES DEFECTIVE CLOCK SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT WITHOUT REPLACEMENT OF THE PART. CAR IS 4,800 MILES OVER WARRANTY AND DEALER EXPECTS US TO PAY FOR REPAIR. PONTIAC CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFERED 50% REIMBURSEMENT. YOUR POLICY STATES SAFETY-RELATED DEFECTS MUST BE FIXED BY MANUFACTURER AT NO COST TO THE OWNER. PLEASE ADVISE. *JB

NHTSA ID
10008488
Incident
Feb 10, 2003
Mileage
40,800 mi
Airbags
Filed Sep 26, 2002
Crash reported

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHEN HIT AT 10MPH PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. * NLM

NHTSA ID
8019584
Incident
Aug 17, 2002
Airbags
Filed Sep 24, 2002

CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A T-BONE COLLISION, UPON IMPACT NEITHER SIDE AIR BAGS DEPOYED. CONDITION CAUSES INJURIES TO THE PASSENGER. MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.

NHTSA ID
8019384
Incident
Jul 27, 2002

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 .