Pontiac Recalls

Certain minivans, passenger cars, and sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage System." The owner's manual does not explain the meaning of the location symbols for the lower universal anchorage system.

Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 135, "Passenger Car Braking Systems."On some of these vehicles, the right rear brake hose fitting may not be tightened properly, and a brake fluid leak could occur. If enough fluid leaks, the brake pedal will be lower than normal, stopping distances will be longer and a crash could occur.

Certain minivans and sport utility vehicles built with second row 50/50 split bench seats or captain's chairs fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems." The seat latch anchor wire diameter is greater than 6.1 mm, potentially inhibiting the installation of child restraints.

Certain passenger vehicles, light duty pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and mini vans equipped with TRW seat belt buckle assemblies fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies." The buckle base of these seat belt assemblies were not properly heat treated and do not pass the load bearing requirement of the standard. In the event of a vehicle crash, the occupant may not be properly restrained.

On certain passenger vehicles, it is possible for the bolts that join the rear brake and hub assembly to the rear axle carrier to be loose due to insufficient tightening during the assembly process. If the vehicle is operated in this condition, one or more of the four bolts could come loose, causing an abnormal noise from the rear axle area. In the event that all four bolts loosen completely, separation of the rear brake and hub assembly from the rear axle carrier could occur, which could lead to a loss of vehicle control.

These passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, and minivans have passenger air bag inflator modules that were built without the correct amount of generant, which produces the gas that fills the air bag. Some were built with a double load of generant and some were built without generant. In the event of a crash that would trigger a passenger air bag deployment, a double load of generant can cause the inflator module to explode. If the air bag module explodes, metal and plastic debris could cause severe injury to vehicle occupants. A module with no generant would not inflate the air bag, and the occupant could receive more severe injuries.

Certain passenger cars, minivans, and sport utility vehicles have an air bag inflator on the driver's side that could fracture at a weld during a deployment. Pieces of the inflator could strike and injure vehicle occupants, and the air bag cushion would not inflate fully, reducing the capability of the bag to protect the driver.

The seat cover trim material does not meet the flammability requirements of FMVSS No. 302 "Flammability of Interior Materials".

In some of these sport utility vehicles, the diameter of the steering column intermediate shaft is too small. This condition could allow the intermediate shaft to spin inside the steering column coupling, resulting in loss of steering control of the vehicle. If this were to happen while the vehicle is moving, a crash could result.

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe vehicles equipped with a front passenger air bag assembly replaced under a prior recall. The replacement air bag may not unfold as designed during inflation in high temperature conditions, possibly resulting in the air bag not inflating properly.