Problems · by component
2008 Chevrolet Aveo air bags problems
70 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Aveo cite air bags, 43% of all 163 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
70
43% of all complaints
Crashes
13
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
14
Reported by owners
What owners say about the air bags
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact's son owns a 2008 Chevrolet Aveo. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger's side air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed that the passenger's side air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.”
“2008 CHEVY AVEO SEDAN - [XXX] - AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINS ON AT ALL TIMES - NO BODY CODES ARE PRESENT / DETECTED - (USING FOXWELL ELITE NT630 SCANNER WHICH CLAIMS TO READ / CLEAR AIRBAG CODES) - I'VE ALREADY RESEARCHED THIS ISSUE - "MUCHO PROBLEMOS" - WITH OVER HALF OF ALL CHEVY AVEO COMPLAINTS INCLUDING AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINS ON. IT'S MOST LIKELY EITHER THE CLOCK MODULE - WHICH PASSES THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SIGNALS TO THE MAIN SRS CONTROLLER, THE SRS CONTROLLER MODULE (LOCATED UNDER CENTER SHIFT CONSOLE AREA) OR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG ITSELF - CODE SCANNER ONLY SEES PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG STAGE 2 - (NO STAGE 1 SEEN) ... DRIVER'S SIDE SHOWS BOTH STAGE 1 AND STAGE 2 ... ALL PRETENSIONERS ARE PROPER (2 OHMS CIRCUIT RESISTANCE) ... BATTERY STRONG / GOOD / NEW - 1 YEAR OLD - 13.5 VOLTS - I'M WORRIED DEALER (HAWTHORNE CHEVROLET - HAWTHORNE NJ) WILL ACTUALLY NOT KNOW THE EXTENSIVE ISSUE WITH CHEVY AVEO AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT COMING ON - AND WILL WRONGLY DIAGNOSE AND TRY TO CHARGE BIG BUCKS - AND PROBLEM WILL RETURN - THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE - SINCE WITH AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT STAYING ON - SRS AIRBAG SYSTEM WILL NOT OPERATE, NO AIRBAG PROTECTION - I HAVE ALSO…”
“AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON, HAS BEEN ON WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM THE DEALER, SAID PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG FUSE WAS BAD, NEEDED REPLACED. NOTED THAT THE PASSENGER ON/OFF WILL AT RANDOM TURN ON OR OFF OR NOT EVEN SHOW AT TIMES, I HAVE ALSO NOTED THE SEAT MAKING SOME SORT OF NOISE WHEN TURNING THE CAR ON.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET AVEO. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER (FRANK BASHAY IN RACINE, WI) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.”
“AIRBAG INDICATOR HAS DISAPPEARED FROM DASHBOARD. THE AIRBAG ON/OFF SYMBOL IS NO LONGER ILLUMINATED ON MY DASH AND MY AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT HAS TURNED ON. IT STARTED AS THE AIRBAG ON/OFF LIGHT WOULD SOMETIMES BE ILLUMINATED, AND SOMETIMES NOT BE ILLUMINATED, AND NOW THE INDICATOR IS COMPLETELY GONE (NEVER SHOWS ON OR OFF).”
“I MADE A REPORT MORE THAN A WEEK AGO. THE HEADLIGHTS SPORADICALLY TURN OFF WITHOUT WARNING. I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT AND BOTH HEADLAMPS WENT OUT. I HAVE TO DO NIGHT DRIVING WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF HAZARD LIGHTS ONLY. UNSAFE!!! THIS SITE CLAIMED I WOULD BE CONTACTED 72 HRS. AFTER I MADE THE FIRST REPORT. WELL, I'M STILL WAITING. I AM STILL WITHOUT HEADLIGHTS. PERIODICALLY, THERE WAS ELECTRICAL (OZONE) SMELLS. SINCE THE LIGHTS ARE OUT, THIS IS NOTICED LESS, BUT I HAVE SMELT IT ON A FEW OCCASIONS.”
Showing 6 of 70 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.