Air Bag Related Problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm

Table 1 shows two common air bag related problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm.

Table 1. Air Bag related problems of Chevrolet Prizm

Problem Category Number of Problems
Air Bag Not Deploy problems
1
Side/window Air Bag problems
1

Air Bag Not Deploy problem #1

While driving at 45 mph consumer's vehicle was involved in a front end collision. Upon impact, air bags did not deploy. As result, major damage occurred. No warning light appeared prior to the crash. Manufacturer was notified.

Side/window Air Bag problem #2

My 2002 Chevrolet Prizm (same as a Toyota corolla) has its cruse control, horn, and the drivers side airbag all mounted on the steering wheel, electrically connected to the rest of the car through an inflatable restraint steering wheel module coil (aka clock spring) mechanism. Both the cruse control and the horn do not now operate and haven't for years, does this mean that the airbag is also inoperatable (two out of three failures sounds like a bad omen; conventional wisdom tells me that this airbag system is also faulty)? is this car safe to continue to operate with this alleged defect?.


Air Bag related problems in other Chevrolet Prizm model year vehicles:



Fuel Economy of Prizm Vehicles
Prizm Service Bulletins
Prizm Defect Investigations