NHTSA Complaint #10583422 — 2009 PONTIAC G8

THE AIR BAG FAULT LIGHT CAME ON IN OUR 2009 PONTIAC G8. THE CAR HAS ONLY 41,000 MILES. WHY WOULD AIR BAG SYSTEM FAIL? IT HAS NO ACCIDENTS AND LOW MILES. TOOK TO DEALER "QUALITY CHEVROLET IN ESCONDIDO CALIFORNIA TO HAVE THE CODES READ AS MY READER WOULD NOT DISPLAY THEM. DEALER SAID THEY WOULD DIAGNOSE IT FOR $115.14. DEALER KEPT IT TWO DAYS AS THEY SAID THEY WERE TOO BUSY WITH GM IGNITION KEY RECALL AND DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO READ THE ERROR CODES. THE SECOND DAY, DEALER SAID "BAD NEWS", YOU WILL NEED TO PAY US AN ADDITIONAL $1,041.00 TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SEAT PRESENCE MODULE. TOTAL WOULD BE $1,156.14. THEY SAID ALL OF THE AIR BAG SYSTEM WON'T WORK WHILE YOU HAVE THIS ERROR CODE. THIS IS CRAZY. A SAFETY SYSTEM LIKE THIS SHOULD NOT FAIL AND IT SHOULD NOT KILL ALL THE OTHER AIR BAGS. I ASKED DEALER FOR ERROR CODES AND PART NUMBER. THE ERROR CODES ARE U0170 LOSS COMMUNICATION WITH PASSENGER PRESENCE AND B0081 PASSENGER PRESENCE SYSTEM. THE PART NUMBER IS GM #92225595. I CHECKED THE INTERNET AND THE PRICE FOR NEW MODULE FROM A GM PARTS SELLER WITH 1 YEAR WARRANTY IS $262.50. I CHECKED THE WEB NHTSA AND OTHER SITES AND THIS FAILURE IS VERY COMMON FOR THIS PONTIAC G8 VEHICLE. IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY GM FOR FREE AS A RECALL OR WARRANTY. PLUS, IT SHOULD NOT DISABLE ALL THE OTHER AIR BAGS IN THE VEHICLE. THIS IS NEGLIGENT AND UNSAFE. PLUS, THE DEALER IS TAKING HUGE PROFIT ON REPLACEMENT FEE. IT TOOK ME 10 MINUTES TO REMOVE THE MODULE FROM UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT. WHY WOULD THE DEALER "QUALITY CHEVROLET IN ESCONDIDO CALIFORNIA" BE SO GREEDY ON SAFETY ITEM AND CHARGE $1,156.14 FOR REPLACING A $262.50 PART THAT TAKES ONLY 10 MINUTES TO REMOVE AND 10 MINUTES TO REPLACE AND 10 MINUTES TO CALIBRATE OR PROGRAM? THIS IS PURE GREED AND DEALER IS SIMPLY CAPITALIZING ON THIS MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. *TR