Pontiac and Saturn defect petition DP16001
Passenger Sensing System Sensor Mat. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the occupant classification on 10 model years (2006–2014). Opened May 16, 2016, closed Apr 24, 2017 after 11 months. It led to safety recall 17V061000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting the opening of an investigation into the air bag system on model year 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky, the subject vehicles. The petitioner raised the issue of failure of the Passenger Sensing System for the front passenger seating position. On January 26, 2017, General Motors filed a defect information report recalling the subject vehicles to address the issue raised by the petition. In view of the recall, ODI considers the petition moot and is closing the action. The closing of the petition does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist, and the agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2006 Pontiac Solstice; 2007 Pontiac Solstice; 2008 Pontiac Solstice; 2009 Pontiac Solstice; 2010 Pontiac Solstice; 2014 Pontiac Solstice; 2007 Saturn SKY; 2008 Saturn SKY; 2009 Saturn SKY; 2010 Saturn SKY.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP16001 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 17V061000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is DP16001 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 24, 2017 and led to recall 17V061000.
Which vehicles does DP16001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 10 model years: 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 2007 Pontiac Solstice, 2008 Pontiac Solstice, 2009 Pontiac Solstice, 2010 Pontiac Solstice, 2014 Pontiac Solstice and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.