NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ98-013: OVERSENSITIVE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENTS
- No closing date on file
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ98-013 on August 26, 1998; NHTSA's investigations file gives no closing date for it. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Pontiac Grand Am and Grand Prix for it and links recall 98V-146 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ98-013 (also written RQ98013)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Opened August 26, 1998; no closing date on file
- Opened
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Component
- Air Bags
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 98V-146: GM/AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Pontiac Grand Am and Grand Prix
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ98-013.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
ON JUNE 26, 1998, GENERAL MOTORS BEGAIN A SAFETY RECALL, 98V-146, TO RECALIBRATE THE AIR BAG SENSING AND DIAGNOSTIC MODULE (SDM) IN THE 1996 AND SOME 1997 J BODY CARS, CAVALIER AND SUNFIRE.DUE TO CERTAIN CALIBRATIONS IN THE AIR BAG SDM, THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK OF INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT IN A LOW SPEED CRASH OR WHEN AN OBJECT STRIKES THE FLOOR PAN.THE RECALL POPULATION CONSISTS OF 675,302 VEHICLES BUILT FROM APRIL 1995 THROUGH MAY 1997.
ODI HAS RECEIVED 8 OWNER REPORTS ALLEGING INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT WITHOUT A CRASH.THE PURPOSER OF THE RQ IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER GM SHOULD EXPAND THE RECALL TO INCLUDE THESE VEHICLES.CLOSING RESUME NOTE:AS OF AUGUST 5, 1999, ODI RECEIVED ONE ADDITIONAL COMPLAINT REGARDING THE ALLEGED DEFECT.THE INCIDENT RATES FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE ABOUT ONE-THRID OF THE RATES OF THE RECALLED VEHICLES (WHEN THE RECALL WAS INITIATED).
BASED ON THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION, A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOSE NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY FUTURE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ98-013. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Pontiac
All Pontiac recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for RQ98-013
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.