Passenger airbag sensor issue? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

daveagogo1 · 01-02-2011, 09:44 PM

Hi all, My wife and myself just bought our 11 Camaro SS brand new DEC 31.

I was wondering if anyone else has had the issue i'm having with the passenger side airbag sensor. My wife has been a passenger in the vehicle about 6 times since we bought it and maybe 50% of the time the airbag status is OFF. Of course this bothers me and i'm wondering if maybe it requires more of a precise procedure to activate or if it's just having an issue i need to have fixed.

My wife is about 5'5" about 110lbs. Seems perfectly sufficient for the seat to recognize she isn't a child. What i have noticed is several of the times it was OFF. I had started the car before she had her belt on. Maybe her squirming a bit to put on belt caused it? Today it was OFF. I had her unbuckle and rebuckle to no avail. I shut the car off and had her rebuckle then started it up and it went to ON.

Now just so i don't seem like a complete tool. We also own a 2010 Traverse that has the same system and it recognizes proper passengers no problem buckled or not prior to startup.

I have read the manual on the subject and it doesn't have any precise procedure so i'm thinking maybe the sensor has an issue???

Anyone else have this problem or am i missing something here.

Top Thrill · 01-02-2011, 09:50 PM

Mine works fine when my 17 year old daughter gets in the car and most of the time the car is already running when she gets in. I would take it in to the dealer and have it looked at.

daveagogo1 · 01-02-2011, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Top Thrill

Mine works fine when my 17 year old daughter gets in the car and most of the time the car is already running when she gets in. I would take it in to the dealer and have it looked at.

Thanks for the input. I actually searched this issue on google and it brought me to a link on this board where it does seem to be a known issue. I will try the suggestions others made in that post until i get it in to the dealer. Has to go anyways as they gave me a "WE OWE" to replace a backup light that has alot of moisture in it.

strykeback · 02-20-2011, 11:23 AM

Glad to know I'm not going crazy. My girlfriend is in the same category. She bought her camaro 6 months ago and on a trip I was driving the airbag light would go off. I pulled off the road, had her bounce around in it, get out and rebuckle, the only way I could get the airbag back on is to have her outside the car and turn the car on and then have her get in and rebuckle. Took it to dealership and they said quote "just don't sit that way." So she has to have the seat completely straight up and itl work 60 percent of the time. That's not good enough for me and I'm pissed GM is willing to have that be a lawsuit.

That was a couple months ago and stil unresolved. In the last 2 months since that its been in 3 times for 2 hvac replacements and the computer system completely replaced, and the defroster is blowing exhaust into the cabin after they repaired that before.

Its going in tiomorrow since now the v6 automatic wants to shift into neutral and high rev out of nowhere, and gettin on the freeway mutliple times with her driving, it will stay in one of the lower gears and not want to upshift or make a grinding awful sound. Sitting in a drive thru last night the engine sounded like someone had a baseball card in the spokes of their bicycle with a constant clicking sound. Its got 6k miles on it.

Anyone shared the issues?
My bestfriend already sued GM over his 2010 v6 manual that was a lemon and had 2 transmissions and they coulddnt fix the cluttch system and had it in the shop for 40 days so perhaps GM is just being GM?

ambientweather · 03-06-2012, 05:44 PM

I have the same issue. My wife weighs 160 lbs. About 50% of the time, it reads off. I have had the sensor replaced twice, the controller once and all of the firmware updates.

I spoke to the tech and there are 11 levels associated with the airbag sensor. GM does not divulge the logic but the first time she sat in the car for them, it read OFF. The level was 4 based on the ODBC computer interface. The next time she sat in the car, the level was 6 and it read ON, so they can reproduce it.

Level 4 is apparently a small child. We then sat in a dozen or so Chevy cars. All of them read ON. In addition, multiple dealer employees with multiple weights reproduced the problem in my car, so it appears to be intermittant with some cars and very reproduceable.

GM will not fix it and stated the car is behaving "within the design constraints".

I am in the process of contacting BBB and NTSB to get a new car. Stay tuned.

MBraa3 · 03-09-2012, 10:21 PM

mine has the same issue. sometimes it doesn't show it's on.

jjfrick · 03-26-2012, 12:26 PM

I just turn 30k on mine. First I received a message on the instrument display reading it "Passenger Airbag needs servicing" or something of the sorts. It is now off continuously (displayed on the rearview mirror).

strykeback · 03-26-2012, 02:38 PM

Glad to see we werent the only ones. My girlfriend went all the way to head managers of general motors after weeks on the phone with their claims department. What we finaly got out of her service manager was that they know its an issue intermittent but would be too costly of a recall. Apparently they would rather settle a lawsyit after somone dies when an airbag doesnt deploy.

We'd love to stick it out and get GM to fix it but we are tired of HVAC module replacements. And transmission issues as well. We have a baby on the way now and all the more reason to get her out of this gm piece of crap and intp something safe and reliable as like a volkswagen.

Blau camaro · 03-26-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ambientweather

I have the same issue. My wife weighs 160 lbs. About 50% of the time, it reads off. I have had the sensor replaced twice, the controller once and all of the firmware updates.

I spoke to the tech and there are 11 levels associated with the airbag sensor. GM does not divulge the logic but the first time she sat in the car for them, it read OFF. The level was 4 based on the ODBC computer interface. The next time she sat in the car, the level was 6 and it read ON, so they can reproduce it.

Level 4 is apparently a small child. We then sat in a dozen or so Chevy cars. All of them read ON. In addition, multiple dealer employees with multiple weights reproduced the problem in my car, so it appears to be intermittant with some cars and very reproduceable.

GM will not fix it and stated the car is behaving "within the design constraints".

I am in the process of contacting BBB and NTSB to get a new car. Stay tuned.

Lots of luck with the BBB. They are paid by GM. So they are not going to be on the consumers side. NTSB may be better just be persistent.

Chevrolet Customer Svc · 03-27-2012, 02:12 PM

For those of you currently speaking with a Customer Assistance agent could you send me your case numbers so I can look them over. For those who are having this issue could you message me so I can look into this for you? Thank you.

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

summiting · 04-02-2012, 02:25 PM

I have the exact same issue with my new 2012 LS. It seems that when I pick up people and the car is already running the airbag will not turn on. It will recognize if a passenger is not wearing their seat belt, but still keep the airbag off even when they put it back on. Have you had any luck with the NTSB or BBB?
They gave me a loaner car when I had moisture in a reverse light... but said they couldn't give me a loaner while they fix one of the main safety features of my car??? Seems odd that GM would ignore airbags being off. If it would cost too much for them too replace all of the sensors and computers couldn't they just keep the airbag on all the time? If I get into a head on collision i'm not really worried about the extra cost of replacing my second airbag even if there isn't a passenger there. These threads are really going to help GM when someone sues them because their passengers face is stuck to the inside of their windshield.

510SS · 05-24-2012, 01:16 PM

I had this same issue in my 2010 1SS. Took it to the dealer and they had to order the new sensor for the seat. They replaced it under warranty and haven't had any issues since.

daveagogo1 · 05-24-2012, 04:33 PM

Just an fyi as it has been a very long time since i posted this. My issue went away all on it's own after a few months. I think the seat was so stiff when new it didn't read her weight properly. After about 2 months it began working just fine every time. Guessing the seat foam needed broken in a bit. I dunno but it fixed iself and has been a non issue for well over a year now.

78RS_to_112SS · 06-19-2012, 01:56 PM

I just asked my dealer to look into this for my 2011 2SS and could not find any info from GM on this... Did anyone find a fix for this?

01-02-2011, 09:50 PM	#2
Top Thrill BOD 5/28/09 #13485 Drives: 2010 Camaro 2LT RS Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Chesapeake, Virginia Posts: 913	Mine works fine when my 17 year old daughter gets in the car and most of the time the car is already running when she gets in. I would take it in to the dealer and have it looked at. __________________

03-06-2012, 05:44 PM	#5
ambientweather Drives: 2011 Convertible 2SS Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 265	I have the same issue. My wife weighs 160 lbs. About 50% of the time, it reads off. I have had the sensor replaced twice, the controller once and all of the firmware updates. I spoke to the tech and there are 11 levels associated with the airbag sensor. GM does not divulge the logic but the first time she sat in the car for them, it read OFF. The level was 4 based on the ODBC computer interface. The next time she sat in the car, the level was 6 and it read ON, so they can reproduce it. Level 4 is apparently a small child. We then sat in a dozen or so Chevy cars. All of them read ON. In addition, multiple dealer employees with multiple weights reproduced the problem in my car, so it appears to be intermittant with some cars and very reproduceable. GM will not fix it and stated the car is behaving "within the design constraints". I am in the process of contacting BBB and NTSB to get a new car. Stay tuned. __________________ Ambient Weather

03-26-2012, 12:26 PM	#7
jjfrick Drives: 2010 LS Manual Join Date: May 2010 Location: Edwardsburg, MI Posts: 9	I just turn 30k on mine. First I received a message on the instrument display reading it "Passenger Airbag needs servicing" or something of the sorts. It is now off continuously (displayed on the rearview mirror). Last edited by jjfrick; 03-26-2012 at 01:35 PM.

06-19-2012, 01:56 PM	#14
78RS_to_112SS Finally back in a Camaro Drives: was 1978 RS, NOW 2011 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: NORTHERN, Ontario Posts: 208 View My Garage	I just asked my dealer to look into this for my 2011 2SS and could not find any info from GM on this... Did anyone find a fix for this? __________________ It all started with a "78 RS and now, after WAITING a quarter century, a triple black 2011 2SS convertible...

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02-20-2011, 11:23 AM	#4
strykeback Drives: 2011 camaro v6 rs Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: California Posts: 6	Glad to know I'm not going crazy. My girlfriend is in the same category. She bought her camaro 6 months ago and on a trip I was driving the airbag light would go off. I pulled off the road, had her bounce around in it, get out and rebuckle, the only way I could get the airbag back on is to have her outside the car and turn the car on and then have her get in and rebuckle. Took it to dealership and they said quote "just don't sit that way." So she has to have the seat completely straight up and itl work 60 percent of the time. That's not good enough for me and I'm pissed GM is willing to have that be a lawsuit. That was a couple months ago and stil unresolved. In the last 2 months since that its been in 3 times for 2 hvac replacements and the computer system completely replaced, and the defroster is blowing exhaust into the cabin after they repaired that before. Its going in tiomorrow since now the v6 automatic wants to shift into neutral and high rev out of nowhere, and gettin on the freeway mutliple times with her driving, it will stay in one of the lower gears and not want to upshift or make a grinding awful sound. Sitting in a drive thru last night the engine sounded like someone had a baseball card in the spokes of their bicycle with a constant clicking sound. Its got 6k miles on it. Anyone shared the issues? My bestfriend already sued GM over his 2010 v6 manual that was a lemon and had 2 transmissions and they coulddnt fix the cluttch system and had it in the shop for 40 days so perhaps GM is just being GM?

03-09-2012, 10:21 PM	#6
MBraa3 Drives: 1SS/RS, '11, L99, Rally Yellow Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Santa Clarita, CA Posts: 9 View My Garage	mine has the same issue. sometimes it doesn't show it's on.

03-26-2012, 02:38 PM	#8
strykeback Drives: 2011 camaro v6 rs Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: California Posts: 6	Glad to see we werent the only ones. My girlfriend went all the way to head managers of general motors after weeks on the phone with their claims department. What we finaly got out of her service manager was that they know its an issue intermittent but would be too costly of a recall. Apparently they would rather settle a lawsyit after somone dies when an airbag doesnt deploy. We'd love to stick it out and get GM to fix it but we are tired of HVAC module replacements. And transmission issues as well. We have a baby on the way now and all the more reason to get her out of this gm piece of crap and intp something safe and reliable as like a volkswagen.

03-27-2012, 02:12 PM	#10
Chevrolet Customer Svc Drives: GM Vehicles Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,328	For those of you currently speaking with a Customer Assistance agent could you send me your case numbers so I can look them over. For those who are having this issue could you message me so I can look into this for you? Thank you. Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

04-02-2012, 02:25 PM	#11
summiting Drives: 2012 Summit White LFX Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Granite Bay, CA Posts: 20	I have the exact same issue with my new 2012 LS. It seems that when I pick up people and the car is already running the airbag will not turn on. It will recognize if a passenger is not wearing their seat belt, but still keep the airbag off even when they put it back on. Have you had any luck with the NTSB or BBB? They gave me a loaner car when I had moisture in a reverse light... but said they couldn't give me a loaner while they fix one of the main safety features of my car??? Seems odd that GM would ignore airbags being off. If it would cost too much for them too replace all of the sensors and computers couldn't they just keep the airbag on all the time? If I get into a head on collision i'm not really worried about the extra cost of replacing my second airbag even if there isn't a passenger there. These threads are really going to help GM when someone sues them because their passengers face is stuck to the inside of their windshield.

05-24-2012, 01:16 PM	#12
510SS Drives: 2010 1SS Silver Ice Metallic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Corona, CA Posts: 137	I had this same issue in my 2010 1SS. Took it to the dealer and they had to order the new sensor for the seat. They replaced it under warranty and haven't had any issues since.