Sherry opened the mail and in it was a piece from GM announcing a recall on our Pontiac Vibe…recalls as you know are something I take pretty seriously and those of you who are my friends on Facebook see me posting recall notices all the time on there.

So, I read the recall…”The Electronic Control Module (ECM) for the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) in your vehicle could have been manufactured with integrated circuits (ICs) that are susceptible to short circuiting when exposed to certain electrical noise from various vehicle electrical components”.

(That in and of itself is one very long sentence and almost impossible to read aloud with one breath…try it).  It goes on:

“If internal short circuiting occurs, the front airbag(s) and /or seat belt pretensioners could inadvertently deploy.  An airbag that deploys inadvertently can, under some circumstances, increase the risk of injury and the possibility of a crash”.

Well heck yes you are going to crash!  Imagine driving down the road at between 55 and 75 depending on where you are driving and suddenly the airbag blows out into your face!  What do you think you are going to do?  You are going to first off think you just hit something that caused the airbag to deploy, or at least wonder what in the hell just happened.  That plastic part in front of you on the steering wheel is going to smack you right in the face and then the whole cab around you will fill with this rubber bag, blocking all vision of anything else, while at the same time pushes your head back toward the rear of the car.  Of course your next move is to crash into something!

The recall goes on even further:

“PARTS ARE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, but when parts are available, your General Motors dealer will install a sub-wire harness (filter) to minimize electrical noise from the other vehicle electrical components,  This service will be performed for you at no charge”.

I have a problem with all of this.  Why are they allowing me and my fellow Vibe owners to continue to drive these pieces with the risk of this happening?  Why are they not having us take our cars to the nearest dealer (slowly and carefully, knowing that at any moment the airbag could deploy), leave it there and drive away in a loaner car?

So, my friends, today I am going for a drive, something that has been planned for quite some time, and I’m driving this Vibe that could deploy an airbag at any moment.  Should I die from a crash while driving today, please show this to the attorney and have my family compensated for GM’s lack of care for my safety and well being.

Bears Butt

April 16, 2013