Our practice > Air Bag Recalls
Safety defects can be very dangerous to consumers and their families. That is why the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) imposes requirements upon car companies and other product manufacturers to reveal at least some defects, and to recall and repair the affected vehicles. However, it is important to note that many defects are never subject to a recall, requiring the consumer to fight for justice in a court of law. Whether your vehicle was recalled or not, please feel free to contact us if you have a question about a defect in your car, van, SUV or truck. As an air bag lawyer and former air bag engineer, I stand ready to answer your questions and assist you.
Below is a brief summary of selected safety recalls relating to air bag defects or to the “air bag law” (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208):
Chrysler is conducting a safety improvement campaign involving 312,442 model year 2005-2006 Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alaska and the District of Columbia. The front crash sensors may crack under certain environmental conditions and allow water to enter into the sensor. This can cause the sensor to become inoperative and illuminate the airbag warning light. The crash sensor was supplied by Robert Bosch Corporation in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This recall demonstrates yet another problem Chrysler had with its up-front crash sensors, continuing a pattern from prior defective air bag sensors. These sensors were added to enhance the performance of the airbag system in certain frontal crashes. If the front crash sensors become inoperative, the driver is immediately alerted by illumination of the airbag warning light and the vehicle should be promptly serviced. Until the vehicle is repaired, the airbags may not provide the enhanced protection in the event of a crash. Chrysler will replace the front airbag sensors with a new design. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety improvement campaign will begin during June 2010. Chrysler's campaign number is J38. 10V-008.
Honda is recalling 379,000 model year 2001-2002 Honda Accord 2 and 4-door, model year 2001-2003 Honda Civic 4-door, model year 2001-2002 Honda Civic 2-door, model year 2002-Honda CRV, model year 2002 Honda Odyssey, model year 2003 Honda Pilot, model year 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL and model year 2003 Acura 3.2CL passenger vehicles. The driver's airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the airbag cushion material possibly causing injury or fatality to vehicle occupants. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before February 25, 2010. 10V-041.
Honda is recalling 644 model year 2010 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured between October 7, 2009 and November 14, 2009. A bolt used to attach an interior trim piece to either the driver's or passenger's side A-pillar may not have been installed during manufacturing. In the event of a crash resulting in side curtain air bag deployment, the trim piece may not remain properly secured to the A-pillar, increasing the risk of injury to the driver and/or front seat passenger. 10V-002.
Hyundai is recalling 65,226 model year 2006 through 2009 Hyundai Azera vehicles manufactured from September 27, 2005 through October 1, 2008. The wiring harness for the right front seat belt tension sensor may sustain damage after repeated use of the seat belt. If the seat belt tension sensor wiring becomes damaged, it will not communicate with the Passive Occupant Detection System (PODS). This defect may cause recording of Diagnostic Trouble Code B1495 (Belt Tension Sensor Defect) and also possibly B1489 (PODS ECU Defect). If the wire becomes damaged, the air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash requiring front air bag deployment. The seat occupant is at an increased risk of injury should the air bag not deploy as intended. Hyundai first made changes to its production lines to re-route the wiring harness and to increase the space between the inner sill and lower B-pillar trim. Later, based on replacement of seat belt assemblies from consumer's cars, Hyundai determined that a safety recall should be conducted. The safety recall is expected to begin during February 2010. Hyundai's recall campaign number is 094. NHTSA recall number 09V-497.
Audi and Volkswagen Group of America (VW) is recalling 6,054 model year 2009 Audi Q5 passenger vehicles manufactured between November 25, 2008 and June 4, 2009. A left and/or right A-pillar trim cover clip may not have been manufactured correctly, allowing the A-pillar trim to become loose when the sideguard head protection airbags deploy during a crash. If this happens, a loose trim piece could injure the front seat occupants of the vehicle. The safety recall is expected to begin during January 2010. 09V-484.
Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 4,001 model year 2010 Range Rover vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. These vehicles equipped with Occupant Classification System (OCS) may experience airbag warning lamp illumination on the instrument cluster. The passenger airbag will be disabled when the airbag warning lamp is illuminated as a result of this defect and the Passenger Airbag Warning Disable (PAWD) lamp in the overhead console will also illuminate. Deployment of the passenger airbag may not be achieved in the event of a vehicle crash increasing the risk of injury. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before December 21, 2009. 09V-467.
Chrysler is recalling 2,990 model year 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee passenger vehicles manufactured from October 22 through November 12, 2009. The passenger side airbag may not properly deploy through the instrument panel tear seam. The airbag may not properly protect the passenger in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury. The campaign is expected to begin in December 2009. 09V-454.
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling 531 model year 2010 Mitsubishi Endeavor model vehicles manufactured between May 26 and July 28, 2009. The retainer bracket used for the seat-mounted side airbag frames on both the driver and front passenger seats may not have been properly welded. If this condition exists, the front seat-mounted airbags may not deploy correctly in a side impact crash, possibly resulting in injury to the seat occupant. Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the weld condition of the side airbag retainer bracket on the front passenger seats. If the weld is insufficient, the dealer will replace the seatback assembly free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about September 22, 2009. 09V-361.
Toyota is recalling 1,309 certain model year 2010 Toyota Corolla vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The air bag label installed on the driver side sun visor can separate from the surface of the visor. This does not meet the standard requirements. The recall is expected to begin on or before October 15, 2009. 09V-332.
Honda is recalling model year 2001 Honda Civic and Honda Accord vehicles. The driver's airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the air bag cushion material possibly causing injury to vehicle occupants. 09V-259.
BMW is recalling model year 2008 BMW 1-series and BMW 3- series passenger cars. Incorrect crimp connectors may have been used on the side air bag and belt tensioner wiring. As a result, sufficient contact between the crimp connectors and the corresponding plug may not occur, which could lead to an increase in the electrical resistance of that connection. If that happens, it is possible for the side air bag and/or the safety belt tensioner not to deploy and not be able to properly protect an occupant, increasing the risk of injuries. 09V-257.
Volkswagen (VW) is recalling 18,500 model year 2009 VW Routan vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The owner's manual was printed without the FMVSS No. 208 required information explaining that no objects should be placed over or near the air bag on the instrument panel. Any such objects could cause injury to the vehicle's occupants in the event of a crash severe enough to cause the air bag to inflate. The recall is expected to begin on or before July 31, 2009. 09V-244.
Chrysler is recalling 4,336 model year 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander and Jeep Wrangler vehicles. Wiring may be reversed on the steering column control module driver airbag squib connector. (The squib is the component within the air bag inflator that begins the deployment process.) The driver's airbag may not deploy as intended. In the event of a crash, the driver's airbag will not deploy and will not be able to properly protect an occupant, increasing the risk of injuries. On February 25, 2009 a defective Steering Column Control Module (SCCM) was found at a Chrysler instrument panel supplier. Analysis determined that wiring was reversed on the driver air bag squib connector. Investigation determined that the SCCM supplier manufacturing process locates the driver air bag squib wires into a fixture by hand and a vision system checks for correct wire color and position prior to soldering. It was also determined that if the fixture is in program mode, the squib wires can be soldered even if not correctly positioned. The affected vehicles all utilize multi-stage driver airbags, and reversed squib wires may result in improper driver air bag deployment performance as the inflator stages fire in reverse order. This condition is not detectable by vehicle on-board diagnostics, and no malfunction indicator lamp will illuminate. The component was supplied by TRW Automotive Electronics Group. The recall is expected to begin during May 2009. 09V-118.
Nissan is recalling 242,720 model year 2005-2009 Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Frontier and Nissan Xterra vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. In those areas of the country which use heavy concentrations of road salt in the winter, a mixture of snow/water and salt can enter into the front crash zone sensor (CZS) housing. If this occurs, the CZS may internally rust resulting in a signal interruption. If this happens, the red air bag warning light will illuminate to alert the vehicle operator. This issue could result in the non-deployment of the driver and passenger front air bags in a crash, increasing the risk of personal injury. Dealers will replace the front CZS with a redesigned sensor. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign. Owners in the other states will receive extended warranty coverage for the sensor to 10 years. These owners will be notified of the warranty extension by mail and will receive a sticker to place in their warranty booklet explaining the extended warranty coverage. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261. 08V-690.
Honda is recalling 3,940 model year 2001 Honda Accord and Honda Civic vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected air bag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the air bag cushion material possibly causing injury to vehicle occupants. The recall is expected to begin on or before December 22, 2008. 08V-593.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 12,662 model year 2009 Cadillac CTS vehicles for failing to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 'Occupant Crash Protection.' Under certain conditions, a software condition within the passenger sensing system may disable the front passenger air bag when it should be enabled or enable it when it should be disabled. In a vehicle crash, if the front passenger air bag does not operate as designed, increased personal injury could occur. The recall is expected to begin on or about November 18, 2008. 08V-582.
Hyundai is recalling certain model year 2001-2002 Hyundai Elantra vehicles. Movement of the side impact air bag wiring harness mounted under each front seat, possibly caused by contact from materials placed under the seat, may result in an electrical resistance that would cause Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) warning light illumination. This condition only relates to the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bags and may prevent seat mounted side impact air bag deployment during a crash where such deployment should occur. Non-deployment of the SRS air bags may increase the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger under certain crash conditions. The recall is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2008, and will be sent out in six mailings. 08V-533.
Hyundai Kia American Technical Center, Inc. (Hyundai) is recalling 393,714 model year 2006-2008 Hyundai Sonata vehicles equipped with an advanced air bag system which features an Occupant Classification System (OCS) in the right front seat. The purpose of the OCS is to disable the right passenger seat front air bag when it detects the presence of a child restraint system or small child in the right front seat. The right front air bag is disabled to prevent injuries to a child that may result from a right front air bag inflation during a crash. Misclassification of a small stature adult as a child in the right front passenger seat may cause the right front air bag to not inflate in an accident that merits air bag deployment and may result in injury to the right front occupant. The recall is expected to begin on or about May 26, 2008. 08V-161.
Bentley Motors Ltd. (Bentley) is recalling 4 model year 2004-2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur and 2004-2006 Bentley Continental GT vehicles. The replacement trimmed covers have been manufactured with tethers of an incorrect length. In the event of a crash, this could result in damage to the air bag itself during deployment, increasing the risk of injuries. The recall is expected to begin on or about February 22, 2008. 08V-072.
General Motors Corp. (GM) is recalling 181,516 model year 2006-2008 Chevrolet HHR vehicles not equipped with optional roof rail air bags for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, 'occupant protection in interior impact.' In tests, one of the upper interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard's requirement. This standard specifies performance requirements to provide head impact protection for occupants. The recall is expected to begin during March 2008. 08V-046.
Honda is recalling 34,300 model year 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The wire harness for the occupant detection system (ODS) and the occupant position detection system (OPDS) is routed underneath the carpet on the driver's side floorboard. In areas where road salt is used, salt from the snow on the driver's shoes will melt and may penetrate the carpet and leak into the wire harness. If the harness is exposed to salt brine, corrosion may occur and the wire may break causing the SRS indicator light to illuminate. A failure of the ODS and OPDS may not detect the presence of a child seat or an out-of-position passenger and deployment of both the front seat passenger's frontal and side air bags will not be suppressed. In the event of a crash, a deploying front passenger air bag or front passenger's side air bag will increase the risk of injury to small or out-of-position occupants. Dealers will inspect and replace the wire harness. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-549.
Maserati North America, Inc. is recalling 56 model year 2008 Maserati Granturismo vehicles equipped with the advanced passenger seat air bag weight sensor system. A malfunction can occur in the supplemental restraint system (SRS) electronic control unit (ECU) software when the battery is not fully charged. In the event of a crash, the passenger side air bag and passenger seatbelt pre-tensioner may not deploy, increasing the risk of injuries. The recall is expected to begin during December 2007. 07V-550.
Volvo is recalling 5,002 model year 2008 Volvo XC70 passenger vehicles. Two deviations have been found in the supplemental restraint system (SRS) control unit software. These deviations may result in a late deployment of the inflatable curtain (IC) and side impact protection system (SIPS) air bags in certain side impact crash situations. In addition, this software error may also cause the 'SRS Airbag - Service Urgent' message and SRS warning light to illuminate. Late deployment of the IC and SIPS air bags in certain side impact crash situations could increase the risk of injury to the vehicle occupant. Dealers will perform a software upgrade of the SRS control unit. The recall is expected to begin during November 2007. 07V-500.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 437 model year 2007 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent sport utility vehicles for failing to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." In these vehicles, the right front passenger seat is built with a passenger sensing system. When tested with a representative unrestrained small adult, the system is required to turn the right front passenger's frontal airbag on. An error in the seat sensor calibration can cause it to fail this test. In addition, this condition can prevent the airbag from turning off when the seat is occupied by a small child. Whenever the front passenger seat is occupied, the driver should always check the airbag indicator to see if the airbag is on or off. If it is not correct for the situation, the passenger should be moved to a different seat. This can increase the risk of injury to a seat occupant during certain crash conditions. Dealers will reprogram the seat's electronic control unit. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign. 07V-344.
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 798 model year 2007-2008 Chrysler Sebring and 2008 Dodge Avenger vehicles. The front seat track position sensors utilized for the air bag system may not function properly. This could increase the risk of injury to front seat occupants during certain crash conditions. Dealers will inspect the front seat track position sensors and replace them. The recall began on June 18, 2007. 07V-240.
Hyundai de Puerto Rico is recalling 2,967 model year 2005-2007 Hyundai Tucson vehicles. Static air bag deployment testing conducted by NHTSA using fifth percentile female dummies indicated that a small stature adult driver not wearing a seat belt and involved in a frontal or near frontal crash, the deployment of the driver air bag may result in an insufficient margin of compliance as measured by the test dummy used in the NHTSA test. This can cause increased risk of injury to the driver under certain crash conditions. Dealers will replace the driver air bag module with one that is designed to provide an increased margin of compliance for low risk deployment for small stature adults who are not properly wearing the seat belts. The recall is expected to begin during June 2007, and will be performed in two mailings. This recall was the subject of an investigation, PE-208-060915, conducted by the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 07V-197.
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 270,958 model year 2005 Chrysler Town and Country and 2005 Dodge Caravan minivans originally sold in or currently registered in the 27 states plus the District of Columbia that use greater amounts of salt for winter road deicing. The up-front (UF) air bag sensors that contain brass bushings installed in these vehicles may corrode and crack allowing water to enter the sensor. These sensors provide enhanced air bag performance in certain types of frontal crashes. In one of these crashes, with one or both of the vehicle’s UF sensors inoperative, the occupants will not benefit from the enhanced air bag protection that these sensors would provide. For vehicles registered in the recall states, dealers will replace the original UF air bag sensors with ones with greater corrosion resistance. Vehicles registered in other states will obtain a lifetime free replacement of any UF sensor that fails. The campaign is expected to begin during July 2007. DaimlerChrysler has not decided that this is a defect related to motor vehicle safety. However, it has informed NHTSA that it will provide the modifications described above. This recall was the subject of a Preliminary Evaluation, PE06-003, conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation. 07V-192.
BMW is recalling 225 model year 2007 BMW 6-Series vehicles. Certain passenger vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, ”Occupant Crash Protection.” The front passenger seat has a sensing system to detect if the seat is occupied. This sensing is programmed to detect if the seat is occupied by a small adult or certain child restraint seats. Placing certain child seats on the front passenger seat is designed to result in the automatic deactivation of the front seat passenger's air bag. In some cases, the sensing system may misinterpret a properly seated small adult as one of these specific child seats, resulting in deactivation of the front passenger air bag when the air bag might be beneficial for the adult, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Dealers will replace the front passenger seat sensor. The recall began on May 21, 2007. 07V-178.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 359 model year 2007 Pontiac G6 vehicles. Certain passenger vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, “Occupant Crash Protection.” The right front passenger seats in these vehicles are built with a passenger air bag sensing system. When tested with a representative, unrestrained six year old child, the system is required to turn off the right front passenger's airbag. Interference during system calibration caused the seats to be out of specification. This can increase the risk of injury to a child seat occupant during certain crash conditions. Dealers will replace the passenger sensing system free of charge. The recall will begin on April 17, 2007. 07V-146.
Nissan is recalling 16,309 model year 2007 Nissan Versa vehicles. On certain hatchback vehicles, the terminals for the passenger side seat belt tension sensor harness connector may have been damaged during the manufacturing process. This could result in a loss of electrical continuity causing the occupant detection system to become inoperative. If this occurs, the air bag warning light will come on and the passenger side frontal air bag will be suppressed. Dealers will replace the connector for the seat belt tension sensor harness free of charge. The recall began on June 18, 2007. 07V-094.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 13,032 model year 2007 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook vehicles. On certain vehicles, the Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM), which controls the function of front air bags, may not operate properly. As a result, the front air bags may fail to deploy in a frontal crash. Also, the air bag warning lamp on the instrument panel may fail to provide warning that the system is inoperative. In the event of a crash, this condition could increase the risk of injury to occupants in the front seat. Dealers will reprogram the SDM computer module. This recall began on February 22, 2007. 07V-062.
Hyundai Motor Company is recalling 128,300 model year 2005-2007 Hyundai Tucson vehicles. On certain sport utility vehicles, during static air bag deployment testing conducted by NHTSA using fifth percentile female dummies indicated if a small statured adult driver, not wearing a seat belt, is involved in a frontal or near frontal crash, deployment of the driver air bag may result in an insufficient margin of compliance as measured by the test dummy used in the NHTSA test. This can cause increased risk of injury to the driver under certain crash conditions. Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. The recall began on January 29, 2007, and will be conducted through six mailings. 06V-445.
Toyota is recalling 133 model year 2004-2006 Lexus LS, 2006 Lexus GS, 2006 Lexus IS, 2004-2006 Toyota Prius, 2005 Toyota RAV4, 2005-2006 Toyota Tacoma, 2005-2006 Scion TC, 2005-2006 Toyota Avalon and 2007 Toyota Camry vehicles. On certain vehicles, due to improper assembly of the air bag inflator, which is used in the side air bag, the curtain shield air bag, and the knee air bag assembly, some inflators were produced with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper air bag deployment. In this condition, the expansion force of the gas may be insufficient to properly inflate the air bag when the SRS system is activated during a crash. This may increase the risk of injury to the occupant in the involved seating position in the event of a crash. Dealers will replace the specific SRS air bag. The recall began on April 6, 2006. 06V-096.
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 955,344 model year 1998-2000 Chrysler Town & Country, 1998-2000 Dodge Caravan, 1998-2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, 1998-2000 Plymouth Voyager and 1998-2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager vehicles. On certain minivans, the driver's air bag may become disabled due to a failure of the clockspring, which is located in the hub of the steering wheel. This condition will manifest itself through illumination of the air bag warning lamp, and could eventually result in a driver's air bag open circuit, if the part is not replaced in a reasonable amount of time. Dealers will replace the clockspring assembly on all covered vehicles with 70,000 miles or less. For those vehicles with more than 70,000 miles, DaimlerChrysler will offer an extended lifetime warranty under which it will replace the clockspring at no charge if it fails. DaimlerChrysler will also reimburse owners who have paid to have the clockspring replaced on their vehicles. The recall began on October 12, 2004. 04V-480.
Nissan is recalling 190,000 model year 1994 and early 1995 Nissan Altima vehicles following reports that passenger air bag deployments in these vehicles had caused a number of moderate-to-severe eye injuries. Nissan has developed a new passenger air bag that is less powerful when it inflates in a crash to reduce the risk of air bag inflation-related injuries. Nissan expects that this new air bag can help reduce the risk of air bag inflation-related injuries. Nissan will replace the passenger air bag at no charge to the consumer. The manufacturer has reported that owner notification began April 28, 2003. 03V-150.
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 1,500,521 model year 1996-1998 Chrysler Town & Country, 1996-1998 Dodge Caravan, 1996-1998 Dodge Grand Caravan, 1996-1998 Plymouth Voyager and 1996-1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager vehicles. On certain mini vans, the clockspring assembly may have been wound incorrectly during the vehicle assembly process. This condition will manifest itself through illumination of the air bag warning lamp, and could eventually result in a driver's air bag open circuit, if the part is not replaced in a reasonable amount of time. Dealers will replace the clockspring assembly on all vehicles with 70,000 miles or less. An extended lifetime warranty will also be placed on this component for all affected vehicles, regardless of mileage. Daimler Chrysler will also reimburse owners who have paid to have the clockspring replaced on their vehicles. Owner notification began November 18, 2002. 02V-293
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 216,100 model year 1997-2000 Dodge Dakota, 1997-2000 Dodge Durango, 1997-2001 Dodge Ram, 2000-2001 Dodge 1500, 2000-2001 Dodge 2500 and 2000-2001 Dodge 3500 vehicles. Sound deadener material inside the steering wheel could become detached from the cover and housing. When this occurs, the material could interfere with the clockspring ribbon and cause an open circuit. The driver air bag system will become disabled, and the air bag warning lamp will illuminate on the instrument panel. Dealers will replace the clockspring assembly. Owner notification began June 18, 2001. 01V-153.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 268,146 model year 1995 Buick Regal and 1995-1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme vehicles. Corrosion of the air bag inflator's internal wiring, which can occur over time, could cause the inadvertent deployment of the driver's air bag. This deployment could occur during vehicle start-up, while the vehicle is parked or idling, or while in operation. If the consumer is too close to an inflating air bag, serious injuries could occur. Dealers will replace the inflators on these air bags. Owner notification began on December 29, 2000. 00V-171.
Daimler Chrysler is recalling 736,824 model year 1993-1995 Chrysler Town & Country, 1993-1995 Dodge Caravan, 1993-1995 Dodge Grand Caravan, 1993-1995 Plymouth Voyager and 1993-1995 Plymouth Grand Voyager vehicles. The wiring that initiates the driver and/or passenger air bag could electrically short circuit to ground. A short circuit to ground that exists immediately after turning the ignition key to the "on" or "start" position can cause the air bag(s) to inadvertently deploy. Inadvertent air bag deployment can injure a front seat occupant. Dealers will perform an electronic diagnostic check. Any short circuits identified in either the driver's or passenger side air bag initiator wire circuit will be repaired. Owner notification began August 2, 1999. 99V-113.
Mazda is recalling 213,000 model year 1995-1996 Mazda MX-6 and 1995-1997 Mazda 626 vehicles. These vehicles can experience air bag deployments in minor undercarriage impacts. Unexpected air bag deployment can result in occupant injury.Dealers will reprogram the SAS unit to reduce the probability of unnecessary deployments in low speed undercarriage impacts. Owner notification is expected to begin during January 1999. 98V-249.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 675,302 model year 1996-1997 Chevrolet Cavalier and 1996-1997 Pontiac Sunfire vehicles. Because of certain calibrations in the air bag's Sensing and Diagnostic Module, an inadvertent air bag deployment could occur in a low speed crash or when an object strikes the floor pan. Air bags deploy with great force and can seriously injure unrestrained occupants who are too close to them. Dealers will recalibrate the air bag Sensing and Diagnostic Module. Owner notification began during August 1998. 98V-146.
Ford Motor Company is recalling 8,600 model year 1995 Ford Contour, 1995 Ford Crown Victoria, 1995 Ford Explorer, 1995 Ford Mustang, 1995 Ford Probe, 1995 Ford Windstar, 1995 Lincoln Town Car, 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis, and 1995 Mercury Mystique vehicles. The passenger side air bag has an inflator body that cracked during forming of the curl that retains the igniter plug in the end of the inflator. Also the igniter end cap can separate from the inflator. The passenger side air bag may not inflate properly resulting in reduced occupant protection in a vehicle accident. If the igniter end cap separates in a frontal collision, hot gases can be released and ignite flammable material or cause burn injuries. Dealers will remove and replace the passenger side air bag module. 95E-006002.
Mazda is recalling 565 model year 1995 Mazda 626 vehicles. The passenger side air bag has an inflator body that cracked during forming of the curl that retains the igniter plug in the end of the inflator. Also, the igniter end cap can separate from the inflator.The passenger side air bag may not inflate properly resulting in reduced occupant protection in a vehicle accident. If the igniter end cap separates in a frontal collision, hot gases can be released and ignite flammable material or cause burn injuries.Dealers will remove and replace the passenger side air bag module. 95E-006001.
Ford Motor Company is recalling 29,000 model year 1995 Ford Escort vehicles. Two bolts that attach the passenger side air bag supplemental restraint system module to the instrument panel are missing. In the event of a frontal impact, the module can come out of the instrument panel. This would not restrain the passenger and would result in an increased risk of injury. Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, install and torque to specification the mounting bolts for the passenger side air bag. 94V-197.
General Motors (GM) is recalling 37 model year 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham vehicles. The passenger side air bag can experience an inflator ignition delay in the event of an accident. This does not comply with FMVSS 208, "occupant crash protection." if the inflator ignition is delayed in an accident, the air bag may be late in deploying, resulting in increased risk of injury to the passenger seat occupant. Dealers will replace the passenger side air bags. 93V-041.