NHTSA Complaint #10180659 — 1996 OLDSMOBILE ACHIEVA

THE AIR BAG LIGHT WENT ON AND STAYED ON IN MY 1996 OLDSMOBILE ACHIEVA. I WAS REFERRED TO MY DEALER BY MY MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED A AIR BAG SAFETY MODULE PROBLEM THAT WAS RECALLED BY GM AS PER "ALL DATA". THE DEALER REFERRED ME TO GM WARRANTY HOTLINE WHEN THE VIN # DID NOT MATCH A RECALL THROUGH THE GM DATABASE. THE ENTIRE REPAIR WAS ESTIMATED BY THE DEALER TO BE APPROXIMATELY $3000.00 USING VINTAGE AUTO PARTS ON THE HARNESS FOR THE MODULE. THIS SAFETY ISSUE WAS CAUSED BY A BODY LEAK THAT COLLECTED WATER AND SHORTED OUT THE SAFETY MODULE. I CAN'T DRIVE THE VEHICLE DO TO THE DANGER OF POSSIBLE INFLATION OF THE AIRBAG WITH OUT WARNING, AS PER THE RECALL NOTICE THAT GM SAYS NEVER OCCURRED. GM WON'T HELP IN THE REPAIR BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 100,000 MILES AND MET THE 10 YEAR MARK ON 10/31/06. I'VE BEEN WARNED NOT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITH THIS PROBLEM BY THE GM DEALER, WHILE BEING PRESENTED WITH A $3,000.00 REPAIR BILL ON A CAR THAT IS IN GOOD RUNNING ORDER OTHERWISE. IT SEEMS GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS PROBLEM.