96 Grand Am air bag deployment

[rodfoster]

Well I got in my car yesterday morning to go to work, started the car and Boom! the air bag went off in my face! after I check my drawers and came back to reality i cut it out and went to work-why did it go off? the airbag and seat belt light came on last weekend-i allways thought when the light was on that your airbag was de-activated but i guess not! Question:if i replace it and take out the fuse will the airbags ever go off again? after that episode i'll take my chances with the windsheild!

[brcidd]

Air bag go off again???? Not so.. since it has been deployed already....I hear the number one cause of false triggers on air bags is corrosion caused by moisture that seeps into airbag components- most commonly the module under the seat-- has your car been flooded, lots of rain, or been in a flood? There are lots of links around here that will explain it better-- but you won't have to worry about it again- unless you choose to have it replaced...

[rodfoster]

sorry i meant to say if i replace the airbag with a used one and just wanted the horn and the appearance back -without the fuse would it ever go off again? yes i found out on web these cars 96-97 leak rain and puddle under the passenger seat where module is-BOOM!

[brcidd]

Right- no fuse, no BOOM - but you got that yellow air bag light on all the time-- so pull the bulb-- or a piece of black electrical tape............will hide that fact........

[J-Ri]

Those airbags are expensive. Why not get a steering wheel from a salvage yard that doesn't have an airbag? Or, just glue the cover back into position.

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by brcidd

Right- no fuse, no BOOM - but you got that yellow air bag light on all the time-- so pull the bulb-- or a piece of black electrical tape............will hide that fact........

This is NOT true !

Just because the fuse is pulled, doesnt mean it wont blow the bag for no reasonagain. Static electricity blows them real easy too!!

You'd probly want to check the ABS Module under the seat to make sure the plug are not wet or corroded.

You can find these air bags on ebay for pretty cheap, new and used. Thiers also a vendor here at AF that sells them on his web site or something.... I think his UN is dugan50.

[ronklo]

I had the same problem... but I was just getting onto a highway..!!! BOOM,, drivers side airbag blew.
There is a seam where the floor panel meets the firewall, and I believe there is a ridge on the engine compartment side. My driveway is sloped and I think moisture and salt sat in this ridge and after I pulled the carpet and the sticky foil from the interior side, I found the metal had rotted out,, about 2 feet long and 1/2 high. I had a body shop repair this. I still have some other smaller leaking but can't find the source. This hole caused water to enter and that shorted out the airbag module under the carpet, under the passenger seat. I bought a drivers air bag and module from the wrecker for $250. I installed the airbag but not the module, and I removed the old module. I contacted GM and a rep meet me at the local GM dealer and looked things over to verify there was no accident etc, and then said they would install a new airbag and module, and replace the corroded module connector if I would get the remaining leaking repaired by a body shop (they recommended), but they would not pay for the leak repair. The body shop said it would be about $2100 to remove the dash and properly repair the leak....The car is not worth that money with over 275,000KM.
So, they consented to the problem, but would not take ownership of the full repair. I must admit, other that that issue, the car had been fairly good for the miles I put on... (bought it at 2 years old with 17,000km).

[dugan50]

Questions about airbag systems are asked a lot in this site. Check out this website for many of your answers
http://www.airbagsolutions.com
This is quite an extensive website with pictures, descriptions and factory fault code charts as well as videos of both accidents and airbag deployments on these pages:
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/resources.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/movie.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/movie9.aspx

It also has a lot of information for you to check your own vehicle, like the recall search pages for both the USA and Canada:
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/nhtsa.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/Canada.aspx

In addition, the purpose of this website and company is to help people diagnose and repair airbag problems themselves without taking them to the dealer (if possible). It offers all the photos and data you need to understand your airbag system, read the codes and reset the light. It’s a pay site, but it certainly is worth the money ($14.95 for 1 day full access)
There’s a place to check if your car is listed on the home page
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/vehicles_list.aspx
and a working demo @ http://www.airbagsolutions.com/demo.aspx that shows just how easy these repairs can be.

Lots of insurance companies and body shops use this site for the information they need to repair your car.

I hope I helped you