Five problems related to air bag have been reported for the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was driving on a residential street and realized I was going the wrong way. I turned left to make a u-turn and drove onto the easement (dirt). When I turned the steering wheel to the left all the way, both airbags deployed. I was burned by the chemicals over the left side of my neck and chest, left ear and inside left wrist. I was traveling less than 5 mph while making this turn. The passenger airbag knocked my window camera off and broke it and sent part of a handheld fan clipped to the passengers visor, into my head and ended up in the backseat. I did not hit anything as it was just dirt.
No summary. Dt.
Premature airbag deployment with slight impact to front undercarriage.
Airbag derm module failed, disabling the airbag system. Dealer and Chevrolet determined failure was due to water in passenger compartment shorting out module. Dealer determined, and Chevrolet admitted, that water came in through holes in chassis opened up due to improper installation of patches at time of vehicle manufacture. Despite this, Chevrolet refused to pay for repair, due to vehicle being out of warranty. Fuel line break occured at highway speeds, spraying fuel over car exhaust system and trailing cars. Passing motorist motioned me to side of road, helping to prevent fire/explosion. Vehicle was repaired under warranty, but to the best of my knowledge, Chevrolet never notified NHTSA or investigated problem.
No summary listed for abov evehicle.