97 Malibu 3.1 V-6 Issues

[Ziggy1647545504]

So I was on my way in to work this morning, running about 50-55 down a long hill, when I hit a bump, and my airbag light started flashing. The car has never done this before, and the light went out fairly quickly, so I kept watching for it. With every successive bump I hit, the light would flash. On some of the larger bumps, all of the dash lights would come up, and the car would try to die, but being in gear, fired right up again. Once I got on the highway, everything was fine, no more issues. I've checked the connections at the battery and alternator, and found no obvious issues. Any ideas?

[Guest Removed]

pull the codes...that will tell the tale

[Ziggy1647545504]

I think I figured it out. 160k on the clock, and the ignition lock cylinder is getting a little worn out. I found that the "on" detent isn't as defined as it once was, and it seems I may have been a little careless when I started it this morning. I think the weight of my keys hanging combined with the soft detent in the on position made it possible for the ignition to momentarily "turn off" when I hit a bump. That also explains why once I had to use the key to restart there was no more issue.

[Cordell]

I think I figured it out. 160k on the clock, and the ignition lock cylinder is getting a little worn out. I found that the "on" detent isn't as defined as it once was, and it seems I may have been a little careless when I started it this morning. I think the weight of my keys hanging combined with the soft detent in the on position made it possible for the ignition to momentarily "turn off" when I hit a bump. That also explains why once I had to use the key to restart there was no more issue.

 

This is a pretty common issue with the keys in the dash.