U0170

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2011 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE with 52497.0 miles

Service air bag message in display, codes U0170 lost communication with restraints system sensor a and B0081 passenger presence system erratic. This vehicle ran out of manufacture warranty 2-28-15. I diagnosed and repaired because of the car being out of warranty and the dealership wanting 140 some dollars just to get started. Safety recall campaign #14030 had been done on this vehicle by a Chevrolet dealer on 8-22-14. The front seats have to be loosened and raised up to perform the campaign. When this campaign was performed the locking tab for the wiring connector under the rf seat had been broken off and not secured in some way or replaced. This broken lock allowed the connector housings to slip apart gradually over time causing the wire terminal dis-connection un-safe condition i drove around with for about 9 months and 5000 miles. The dealership is not willing to work with me as far as re-imbursement for the mistake they made and Chevrolet customer assistance center is not willing to help either. I will think twice before i ever take any of my vehicles in for a safety recall campaign. I feel my car was safer before the safety recall was performed!
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 84715.0 miles

The air bag system's passenger presence module failed while the Pontiac G8 gt was at the gm dealer being repaired for a different problem. Error codes were B0081 and U0170. The ppm was replaced by dealer's service technician with gm part number 92225595. The repair was not covered by any warranty even though this module is known to be a high-failure item due to a defective design. This is a dangerous defect which may cause the passenger-side airbag to fail to inflate in a crash. The vehicle should be recalled.
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 70000.0 miles

"air bag fault" message is displayed in the info center on the dash and air bag warning light is illuminated. Codes U0170 and B0081 were read at dealership. Parts #92225594 (module) and #92220398 (sensor) are required at an installed cost of approximately $1100. The vehicle has 70,000 miles on it. Entire air bag system is disabled due to this malfunction. Research indicates this is a very common malfunction on these vehicles.
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G6 with 100000. miles

"air bag fault" message is displayed in the info center on the dash and air bag warning light is illuminated on my 2009 Pontiac g8 gt. Codes U0170 and B0081 were read at dealership. Parts #92225595 (module) and #92220398 (sensor) are required at an installed cost of approximately $1100. Entire air bag system is disabled due to this malfunction. Research of nhtsa complaints indicates this is a very common malfunction on the Pontiac g8 and there have been some accidents. I am extremely concerned about this warning message and the use of the car has been limited knowing that the airbag will not be deployed in an accident. I noticed that the part number has changed to a higher/different number than the original module part number. This indicates that not only does gm know which part to replace to solve the issue, but they created a new and updated module to solve the issue; which means that gm did acknowledge that the original module was a faulty part. Why wasn't a recall issued? Air bag not functioning as designed is a serious safety issue. I see one hundred and twenty-nine nhtsa complaints for the Pontiac g8 air bag module, surely there are hundreds of complaints for other gm vehicles which use the same part and hundreds more cases that were never reported. Many of the Pontiac g8 models have passed on to younger drivers now, maybe your son or daughter. These younger drivers may not have the resources ($1k) to fix the problem, there will be more accidents and people will die, how many does it take to get gm to issue a recall?
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 41826.0 miles

When i got into the car to go to work, the srs airbag warning light came on, flashing and did not go off. I took it to the dealer a few days later and was given the codes U0170 and B0081, which apparently point to a defective passenger presence module. The purpose of this module is to sense if there is a passenger or not. Apparently, since this module is bad, it threw the above codes and disables all airbags. In the event of an accident, no bags will deploy until this is fixed. I have just found out that this is a known issue with gm vehicles and upon further research, there are many reported issues with this. Since this has been a federal requirement since 1998, this should be an issue that is covered under a recall if the car is out of warranty, as the sensors are not a normal wear item. While there has been no accident yet, this car is not safe to drive and with it being a known issue, gm should recall all vehicles with this issue.
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 23478.0 miles

After hearing about fellow G8 owners experiencing an air bag fault light, i was not surprised to see my light come on after starting it last week. I have the dreaded passenger presence module fault codes B0081 and U0170. I know that gm had previous air bag issues and had a recall on the G8 and i had that recall done as soon as i was able to. I would like to see gm look more into this problem because i hear more and more owners are having this pop up with their cars. This is a serious safety issue as now i don't drive my car until i can get this fixed. I called the dealership and found out that this would be totally on me to pay for this correction. I thought safety related issues should be under a warranty no matter what. I have been told that gm knows there is a problem because when i go to order the part that is required, the part number has been changed to a higher/different number than the original. This clarifies that not only does gm know which part to replace to solve the issue, but they created a new and updated module to solve the issue; clarifying that they do acknowledge there is a faulty part.
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 31453.0 miles

When my wife was driving our son to daycare the srs airbag light came on in our 2009 Pontiac G8 with only 31k on it. We brought it a local dealer and they read the codes and they came back as U0170 and B0081. Told us it will be over $400.00 for parts and around $300.00 in labor since this is not covered under the powertrain warranty which the car still has as this time. We would be stuck paying for it. These items should not wear out and is a safety issue that gm knows about and has done nothing about it. Since this srs light is on it makes the car unsafe to drive as it shuts the airbags off that are mandatory since 1998. Now with the state inspection coming up soon (not sure if it passes with the srs light on) the car will have to continue to sit here in the driveway as it is unsafe to put my wife & son in until he have a extra $900.00 to fix the problem. Gm should have a recall on this as they know of the problem its not a handful of cars its hundreds.
AIR BAGS,

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2009 PONTIAC G8 with 41361.0 miles

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.
SEATS, AIR BAGS ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

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2008 PONTIAC G8 with 101000. miles

My car has just over 100k and the airbag light came on with codes B0081 and U0170. The airbags are now not functioning because of a faulty passenger presence module. It happens almost every time i start the vehicle (about 95% of the time). The airbag light illuminates, stays on, and the vehicle shows an airbag fault warning. From the research i've done, this is a very common issue with the Pontiac G8 and the entire airbag system is inoperable once this module needs to be replaced. There are dozens, if not hundreds of complaints regarding this module and the fact that it disables the airbag system. This is a serious safety issue and the end consumer should not have to foot the bill to replace this module, considering that gm knows about this defect and the numerous complaints.
AIR BAGS,

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2008 PONTIAC G8 with 86000.0 miles

Passenger seat does not register a person sitting in it to activate air bag system. Codes retrieved: U0170 and B0081. Odometer: 86,000
AIR BAGS,

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2008 PONTIAC G8 with 86000.0 miles

Passenger seat does not register when a person is sitting in seat to activate. Codes recieved: U0170, B0081.
AIR BAGS,

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2008 PONTIAC G8 with 104000. miles

Keep getting air bag light on code U0170 and B0081 seems like this is a big safety problem with the Pontiac G8 needs a recall on this problem and replaced the rear abs sensors and still have the issue with it not working and replaced them 2 times with new sensors
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR BAGS

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2008 PONTIAC G8 with 72000.0 miles

With approximately 72,000 miles and less than 5 years old while driving my 2008 Pontiac G8 gt the air bag light came on. After checking with onstar the error codes were U0170 and B0081. There have been prior recalls associated with the programming on the air bag system and my car has had an airbag module replaced once already. A quick search on the internet shows numerous other people experiencing the same issue on Pontiac G8s that in many cases have even less miles than mine on them. Many of the stories online are littered with dealer estimates to repair this problem, with repairs running upwards of $900+ to replace one module (gm part no. 92225595), and that might not even fix the problem. In some cases dealers are diagnosing the sensor (gm part no. 92220398) as having to be replaced as well, which is another $900+. I find it hard to believe that so many people are having this issue (at least that are reporting it online) and there must be many others as well that haven't taken to the online forums to report their problem. With a repair as costly as this one (on a car whose market value is roughly $15,000) i find it hard to believe many are making the required repairs as the cost to do it is significant (and in my case >10% of the total market value of the car). I would appreciate a further look into this issue with a focus on how many of gm part no. 92225595 have been manufactured/bought in the last 3 years for use on a Pontiac G8. I imagine many more will have this same problem in the future on cars that have a minimal amount of miles. I believe a recall, or look into a recall, is warranted. Thank you
AIR BAGS,