General Motors may have cleaned up its act surrounding safety and recalls in the present, and laid strong foundations for the future, but sometimes the past can, and will, creep back. In this case, it involves “Old GM” and a product failure, which could have dire consequences for drivers.

We’ve been anonymously tipped, and provided supplemental reading materials, surrounding the seat sensors in the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, which were manufactured on the Kappa platform between 2006 and 2010. As the research shows, both the Solstice and Sky were equipped with standard airbag detection system, which are housed in seat sensors in the passenger front seats. Over time, the sensors may bend, crack and ultimately fail, leading to non-deployment of the airbag in the event of a collision.

The system was developed to suppress the airbag should a child, infant or car seat be sitting in the front passenger seat. If the sensor detects an adult, the airbag will deploy. GM made the system standard in every vehicle by the 2006 model year, beginning with the 2006 Cadillac CTS.

Interestingly enough, GM recalled the 2007 model year CTS in 2010 for an identical problem with the seat sensors, an up to $800 fix that has led to reoccurring issues. The NHTSA and other auto manufactures have also issued recalls for the same technology in the past.

Giving warrant to the concern, data analyzation proves the seat sensor does wear out with overall usage and mileage, with 710 complaints logged with the NHTSA for the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky combined. Of the 710, 438 were surrounding the airbag system. GM previously recalled the 2007 model year CTS with only 154 complaints over the airbag system.

We present this information to inform, and persuade, hopefully providing momentum to ensure loss of life does not occur due to a faulty airbag sensor. The evidence is clear, as it has been documented carefully over 67 pages by Troy Lyman, that GM holds a responsibility to its customers over this safety issue. We invite you to read the document and educate yourself further on the matter here.