USA TODAY: General Motors knew in 2004, a decade before it issued a recall, that its Chevrolet Cobalt had an ignition switch that could inadvertently shut off the engine while driving, according to depositions in a civil lawsuit against GM. The stall also would cut off the driver’s power steering and brakes, as well as safety systems such as airbags and anti-lock brakes…
In the recall announced last Thursday, GM said it knows of at least six deaths in five Cobalt crashes in which airbags failed to deploy as a result of switch failure. It said the switch mechanisms did not meet its specifications and too easily could pop out of the “run” position — because of jarring or a heavy key chain — into “accessory” or “off,” deactivating the airbags…
Even though GM acknowledged the problem in the 2005 technical service bulletin — a type of routine notice from automakers to dealers about possible problems and fixes — the bulletin did not tell dealers to put the new key cover on the keys of new Cobalts before they were sold. The bulletin also did not tell dealers to alert buyers of the possibility that the key might move out of place and the engine might stall… (more)
in 2009 My son died in a 2005 Cobalt. His air bag did not deploy. picture afterwards showed that the key was not in the ignition.
He had a lot of keys on the key chain.
I thought the air bag should have push him back but it did not deploy.