general problems of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt

Airbag sensor failure in seat.

Passenger presence detection system is malfunctioning, and causing a "service airbag" warning. This is a huge safety issue that could be detrimental or deathly in the event of an accident. This is a common issue among generation 1 Volt owners, and should be considered for a recall or warranty coverage. The passenger presence detection system parts are discontinued, and even if I found the part the dealership cannot confirm for the pricey repair, that the airbag / sensor will not simply malfunction again -- which makes this a persistent safety concern and huge owner inconvenience to say the least.

This issue has been reported extensively: NHTSA pe19013. The passenger seat sensor has failed leading to the airbag turning on and off rapidly while driving. This is available for inspection upon request. I worry about the safety of occupants in the car. If the airbag is turned off despite a passenger sitting in the seat that is a problem. The price of repair at a dealer is very high considering that this is a very clear quality control issue by gm that has been acknowledged by both gm and NHTSA. This warning light has turned on before and then went away for a long time. Now it has returned and after some research it is clearly an issue that many other 2012-2013 Volt owners have experienced.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet bolt. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the "service air bag" warning light would intermittently appear on the instrument panel. The contact notified a dealer about the failure and was given a diagnostic fee. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and was given the same information. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA action number: pe19013 which the contact linked to the failure, the NHTSA investigation was later closed. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

Airbag sensor harness underneath the passenger seat comes disconnected from moving the seat back and forth causing a warning on the dash. Gm has a TSB about this and should rewire the harness for free. The passenger presence module is undetected when the seat moves forward but is detected when moved to its full rearward position.

In September 2019, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe 19-013 to assess the malfunction of the passenger sensing system (pss) in the 2012-2013 Chevrolet Volt vehicles. Due to that malfunction, the air bag system malfunction indicator light is activated. This could cause the passenger airbag to be suppressed in a crash. In July 2021, the odi closed pe 19-103 after gm instituted a cost reduction program for the repair/replacement of the pss in the subject vehicles. In July 2023, I took my 2012 Volt to a local dealer to correct this problem, only to learn that the necessary replacement part has been discontinued by gm and is no longer available. That is, frankly, unconscionable. I am requesting that odi reopen the investigation and take further action to compel gm to make this repair available.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the front passenger’s side air bag passenger sensor system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the part to repair the vehicle had been discontinued and no repair was available. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the part was discontinued. The failure mileage was 100,000.

The passenger seat occupancy sensor is malfunctioning and needs replaced.

Airbag light is on due to faulty passenger seat sensor that is a known defect by manufacturer. Your investigation was closed with the note that "gm created a program to replace the passenger sensing systems in 2012 and 2013 model year chevy Volt vehicles". I am trying to get them to fix the issue, but they say there is no program for this repair. And the repair consists of replacing full passenger seat for over $1000. It looks like gm is misleading NHTSA that they have a program to correct the problem.

Airbag service light comes on for unknown reason. This appears to be a very common problem amongst chevy Volt owners (2012-2013). Why no recall for this serious safety issue?.

Regular faulty warnings referring to air bag component.

Seat sensor for passenger air bag is not working. It picks up a passenger and turns on air bag then turns it off. Then back on then off. Getting service airbag light. I see this was investigated by NHTSA and chevy was supposed to build a replacement program for 12-13 Volts but when I call chevy they see no such program even though it is reported as a known consumer concern and was part of agreement when closing NHTSA investigation as per articles on this from journalist.

The "service airbag" light starting coming on. I took the car to the dealership and they said that the harness in the driver's seat has a bad sensor or plug and cannot be replaced because gm no longer makes this part. They suggested that I might try to find a replacement seat in a junkyard. This means I have car that is less than 10 years old with a driver's side airbag that may or may not deploy in an accident. The dealership does not have a solution.

We began receiving the intermittent warning message "service airbag" on our 2012 chevy Volt at around 65,000 miles, and are continuing to receive it at 69,000 miles. Research reveals that other Volt owners have encountered the same problem. Cost of repair: $1,000. It appears to be a manufacturer sensor defect that requires a recall.

In mid 2020 I began to get an intermittent warning of a problem with the passenger side, front seat occupant sensor. The problem has become much more frequent. The gm service department was familiar with the problem in 2020, but said there was no recall. If the passenger moves around the sensor will activate or deactivate. I assume that the airbag would not dependably deploy in an accident. Today I discovered a discussion of this problem in the gm-volt forum. The forum mentions the same problem with other gm models. This is obviously a safety and manufacturing issue. Repairs are quoted in the $800 to $1,000+ range with no guarantee the problem won't reoccur.

My passenger seat frequently generates a service airbag warning. The last time I talked to a dealer rep about this, I was told it was caused by a faulty "passenger presence module. " as I am out of my bumper to bumper warranty, the cost to fix is over $800. I've also seen numerous complains on Volt forums about this same issue.

An air bag error message appears on the dash. We discovered if a person sits in the front passenger seat the error clears. We just bought the car, and the dealer states that this safety feature would fall on us to repair. When we test drove the car there as someone in the front passenger seat so we were not aware of the issue till after it was purchased.

Tl- the contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Volt. The contact stated that when a passenger sat in the front passenger seat, at any speed, the �service air bag, passenger air bag is off� light illuminated. The contact called the colonial west Chevrolet of fitchburg dealer, located at 314 john fitch hwy, fitchburg, MA 01420 where it was stated that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. Fe.

After a front seat passenger has exited the vehicle, a warning message appears stating service airbag. This will appear immediately after the persona has exited and, in some cases, following the restart of the vehicle without a passenger. Pushing down hard on a certain section of the seat will often make the warning message disappear, but this is happening with regular frequency. Dealer quoting cost to repair is between $900-$1100 dollars. I belive this is part of investigation pe19013.

Randomly when driving it will say service airbag and then the light for the passenger airbag turns on showing that it will not deploy.

Defective front passenger seat occupancy sensor. The defective sensor makes the passenger airbag unusable, sacrificing passenger safety.

Constant updates on the dashboard related to airbag service related issue. The notification frequency is exacerbated when something or someone is in the passenger seat.

Service airbag alert was displayed after driving over bump in the road possibly compromising the function of the airbag system in a crash.

Service airbag warning appeared. All other functions checked ok, no codes. One day later the multifunction screen display is blank and all buttons but the climate control are non functioning. Only capacitive touch buttons that work are front dehumidifier, and fan control buttons (including auto). Air conditioning is stuck on an no other buttons function. May be related to prior submission: NHTSA id number: 10872363.

My 2012 Chevrolet Volt has had a failure with the passenger air bag presence sensor. As a result, the passenger air bag indicator has been going on and off intermittently while someone is riding in the passenger seat. This has been happening since 2017. It has gotten worse over time and is usually off when it should be on. My passengers no longer feel safe. This is a failure that could result in the passenger’s death if the air bag fails to deploy in a crash. The repair cost from the dealer is also unreasonably expensive at over $1,000. The part alone costs $400 and requires proprietary dealer programming equipment for installation. A critical safety failure like this should be immediately recalled and fixed at no cost to the owner. This is not an isolated incident and has been widely reported across the internet.

The 2012 chevy Volt passenger airbag sensor was an issue that the NHTSA investigated. It will cause the passenger side airbags not to deploy in a crash. I can reproduce the airbag warning light by pressing on the passenger seat. It has also been confirmed by an independent service center. There is supposed to be a reduced cost replacement program (according to the NHTSA) but both dealers and the Chevrolet support center do not seem to know about it).

Basically when anyone sits in the front passenger seat our 2012 chevy Volt the air bag warning detection/ failure come on; this happens when the car is stationary and driving. It started happening sporadic, but lately it has been more consistent with the safety alert defect. It presents some huge safety concerns for us because we are not sure if it would protect the passenger sitting in that seat if there would be an impact. We believe general motors should address this issue. We can't be the only Volt having this issue. Thank you!.

The passenger's seat detector for airbag is not functional. There's a report at my dealer (action Chevrolet) of the default. I also filed a complaint at the gm customer service and aftersales and was told that they would not pay for the seat component involved beeing outside my 60,000 km warranty (was a little over then!). This is not the result of a misuse or water spill on the seat. I feel that the security of my family is jeopardised by this defect. The cost of repair is important and exceeds our budget of operation for that car. Learning now that many Volts of those years were affected by this important problem, I feel that it qualifies for a recall and fixing by gm. Thank you for treating my demand accordingly. Dr benoit leger dvm, vercheres, quebec, cnd.

I was making a left hand turn and was hit by an SUV who ran a red light doing about 35 or 40 miles per hour on front of my car. It hit the front of my car spinning it to the right [about 160 degree turn] when my car spun I hit the back of my head and left shoulder on the door pillar, my head hurt and I was dazed. The airbags had not gone off I hit the onstar button nothing happened I smelled burning so I turned the car off and got out. I now have a minor concussion due to the failure of the airbags to deploy.