NHTSA Defect Investigation List for the 1997 Pontiac Sunfire
The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) is an office within the NHTSA which investigates serious safety problems in the design, construction or performance of vehicles. The NHTSA is authorized to order manufacturers to recall and repair vehicles, if the ODI finds a safety issue. NHTSA investigations for the 1997 Pontiac Sunfire, both ongoing and closed, are listed below:
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OVERSENSITIVE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENTS NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA98001
Component: Air Bags
Summary: Alleged that the dual air bags can deploy without a vehicle crash or from a minor undercarriage impact.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA98001 »
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FIRE IN STEERING COLUMN AREA NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE02001
Component: Electrical System
Summary: Alleged electrical fires from steering column/dashboard area
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE02001 »
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UNINTENDED VEHICLE ACCELERATION NHTSA Defect Investigation #DP03007
Component: Fuel System, Other:Delivery
Summary: On September 23, 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter dated September 8, 2003 from mr. Donald friedman, petitioning the Agency to "open a defect investigation into unintended acceleration involving [model year] 1996 and 1997 General Motors J-cars."in support of his petition, mr. Friedman cited a report he "received for GM" showing it had received far more reports of alleged unintended acceleration for these models than for others. After assessing the data claimed by the petitioner to justify his request, ODI found no indication that defect trend related to the petitioner's allegations exists at this time. Therefore, there is no reasonable posibility that an order concerning the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect would be issued as a result of granting mr. Friedman's petition. Consequently, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the Agency's safety mission, the petition is denied. For additional information concerning this analysis, please refer to the attached federal register notice.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #DP03007 »