YearToAvoid

2010 Pontiac Vibe Airbags Problems

Airbags problems account for 31 of 58 complaints (53%) on the 2010 Pontiac Vibe, tied to four related recall campaigns including Takata inflators. Owners report non-deployment in crashes, warning light illumination, and long delays getting recall parts, with median failure mileage at 93,000.

Airbags complaints
31
53% of 58 complaints
All complaints this year
58
Crashes reported
4
Fires reported
0
Injuries reported
3
Median mileage
93,000 mi
Related recalls
4

Typical airbag symptoms owners report

  • Front, side curtain, and seat airbags failed to deploy in low-speed crashes, in one case with injuries to a rear passenger.
  • The airbag warning light illuminated during normal driving with no apparent trigger, sometimes tied to a faulty steering wheel coil module and fuse block failure.
  • Owners who received Takata recall notices reported parts were unavailable for months, leaving them without a working airbag system or unable to use the front seat.
  • In a crash at 25 to 30 mph, airbags did not deploy and the seat belt did not lock despite the vehicle having already undergone the recall inflator replacement.
  • A high-speed rollover crash occurred with extensive vehicle damage, raising questions about airbag performance during the incident.

When 2010 Pontiac Vibe airbag complaints were filed

First complaint Jan 12, 2013, latest Dec 2, 2019.

2010 Pontiac Vibe airbags complaints: complaints filed per month5Jan 2013Jul 2016Oct 2016Jan 2017May 2017Jun 2018
31 complaints filed with NHTSA from Jan 2013 to Dec 2019; peak Feb 2017 (5).

Airbags recalls for the 2010 Pontiac Vibe

  1. NHTSA 18V024000Jan 9, 2018Airbags628,018 vehicles

    Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module

    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, IS-F, and GX460 vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP (Saipan), and the U.S. VI or "Zone A." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, ES350, IS-F, GX460, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Toyota is also recalling certain 2009 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Lexus IS250, IS350, ES350, IS-F, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles ever registered in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

    Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.

  2. NHTSA 18V025000Jan 9, 2018Airbags116,126 vehicles

    Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module

    On January 9, 2018, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) notified NHTSA that they are recalling 14,585 model year 2010-2012 Yaris vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As of January 30, 2018, Toyota is additionally recalling 3,347 model year 2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles located in states listed above. Also included in this recall filing is 98,194 model year 2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix vehicles, located throughout the U.S., that previously received a “like-for-like” interim air bag inflator replacement. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

    Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assemblies with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are G0R (Zone B), and H0A (Zone C), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A), J0A (Matrix Zone A).

  3. NHTSA 16V340000May 23, 2016Airbags1,754,517 vehicles

    Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module

    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus IS250C, Lexus IS350C and Lexus GX460, 2011 Sienna, 2007-2011 Lexus ES350, and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris, 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350 and 2007-2008 Lexus ES350 vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles of these model years and models that were not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

    Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on December 6, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for interim notification for this campaign are G1P (Toyota Zone A), G1R (Toyota Zone B), G2G (Lexus Zone A), and G2H (Lexus Zone B). Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), GLG (Lexus Zone A), and GLH (Lexus Zone B).

  4. NHTSA 14V168000Apr 9, 2014Airbags1,486,413 vehicles

    Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module

    Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, 2008-2010 Highlander, and 2009-2010 Tacoma, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and General Motors Pontiac Vibe vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the steering column assembly contains electrical connections to the driver's airbag module housed in a spiral cable assembly, which includes a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC). Due to the shape and location of the FFC's retainer, the FFC could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned.

    Risk: If the FFC is damaged, connectivity to the driver's air bag module could be lost and the air bag deactivated. The failure of the driver's air bag to deploy in the event of a crash that typically necessitates deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver.

    Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota vehicle owners, and General Motors will notify the Pontiac Vibe owners. Toyota sent owners an interim notification letter in May 2014 to advise owners of the recall. Toyota will mail owners a second letter when remedy parts are available. General Motors sent Pontiac Vibe owners an Interim letter on June 20, 2014 notifying them that parts are currently unavailable. General Motors sent notices to the Pontiac Vibe owners on September 15, 2014, that a remedy is available. The recall began on October 27, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-762-2737.

Airbags complaints by Vibe model year

Raw complaint counts per model year; newer years have had less time to accumulate complaints.

  1. 2005174 (58%)
  2. 2006119 (67%)
  3. 2007113 (66%)
  4. 200848 (76%)
  5. 2009352 (67%)
  6. 201031 (53%)
  7. 20141 (100%)

Frequently asked questions

How many airbag complaints does the 2010 Pontiac Vibe have?
NHTSA lists 31 airbag-related complaints for the 2010 Pontiac Vibe, which is 53% of the 58 total complaints filed for that model year.
Is there an airbag recall for the 2010 Pontiac Vibe?
Yes, NHTSA lists four related recall campaigns covering airbags, including Takata inflator recalls 16V340000, 18V024000, and 18V025000, plus steering-related recall 14V168000.
Did the airbag problems cause crashes or injuries?
NHTSA data shows 4 crashes and 3 injuries linked to airbag complaints on the 2010 Pontiac Vibe.
At what mileage do airbag problems typically appear?
The median mileage at failure for airbag-related complaints on the 2010 Pontiac Vibe is 93,000 miles.
Did owners get their airbag recall repairs done quickly?
Several owners reported the Takata recall repair took longer than a reasonable amount of time because replacement parts were unavailable.

Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint and recall databases; U.S. EPA fuel economy data; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Data updated Sep 24, 2026. Read the methodology and data sources. The Complaint Index is based on NHTSA owner complaints and recalls; it is not a reliability rating.