Factory Airbag related Recalls

Airbag Recalls - April / May / June 2008

Douglas Gan — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:30:52 GMT

Hyundai is recalling 393,714 MY 2006-2008 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 air bag inflation during a crash. Misclassification of a small stature adult as a child in the right front passenger seat may cause the air bag to not inflate in a crash that merits air bag deployment and may result in injury to the right front occupant. Dealers will verify that the OCS does not properly recognize a properly seated adult occupant. After verification, dealers will remove the right front seat cushion assembly and ship it to an evaluation and repair facility. This facility will evaluate and repair or reprogram the seat cushion and OCS as necessary. The recall is expected to begin on or about May 26, 2008. Owners may contact Hyundai at 1-800-633-5151. 08V-161

Volkswagen is recalling 76,900 MY 2004-2005 New Beetle and MY 2003-2005 New Beetle convertibles equipped with an advanced (dual-stage) air bag system. This system may have air bag frontal crash sensors that contain a solder joint on the circuit board that may crack under certain high temperature conditions. If this occurs, the air bag indicator light will illuminate and the fallback algorithm will ensure that the front air bags always deploy in a frontal crash in which the vehicle's deceleration is high enough to activate the frontal air bags. In low-severity frontal impacts, the front air bags may deploy more forcefully than designed, increasing the possibility of injury to out-of-position front seat occupants. Dealers will inspect each vehicle to determine that the specific defect crash sensor is present on one or both sides of the vehicle. All of the defect crash sensors will be replaced free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before July 31, 2008. Owners may contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987. This recall was the subject of a Preliminary Evaluation, PE08-012, conducted by the Office of Defects Investigation. 08V-178

Land Rover is recalling 37,142 MY 2005-2006 LR3 and Range Rover Sport vehicles. Relative motion between the steering wheel hub and/or the steering column cowl with the clockspring, which includes the driver side air bag circuitry, could result in fracturing of the air bag wiring connection. If an air bag wire fractures, the SRS warning light will illuminate on the instrument cluster. The SRS warning light indicates to the driver that there is a concern with the SRS system in the vehicle and that immediate repair is necessary. If the SRS warning light is ignored and a vehicle crash of sufficient severity to command deployment of the driver's air bag occurs, the air bag module may not deploy in the intended manner. The condition may result in the deployment of only one stage of the dual stage driver's air bag or the air bag may not deploy at all increasing the risk of serious injuries to the driver. Dealers will insert spacers between the lower left hand side of the column switch mounting point and the column lock to improve the alignment of the column switch. Two foam pads will also be fitted to the top of the steering column switch gear to provide assured clearance between the cowl and the clockspring face. The recall is expected to begin on or about July 21, 2008. Owners may contact Land Rover at 1-800-637-6837. 08V-248

Airbag Recalls - February / March 2008

Douglas Gan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:17:37 GMT

Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 16,365 Murano and Infiniti EX 35 sport-utility vehicles to fix a software program that may lead passenger air bags to fail.

The recall affects 11,511 Muranos from model year 2009 and 4,854 Infiniti EX35s from 2008, according to a Feb. 12 letter from Nissan posted on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site.

The air bags may fail to inflate in a crash because of incorrectly programmed software, increasing the risk of injury, according to the agency.

Nissan sold 76,358 Muranos last year, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata Corp. The Infiniti EX, a compact sport-utility vehicle introduced in December to compete with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's X3 and Honda Motor Co.'s Acura RDX, sold 305 units in 2007.

Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for Nissan, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Tokyo-based Nissan is Japan's third-largest automaker, behind Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda.

Volkswagen AG's 2003 and 2004 New Beetles are being investigated by U.S. safety regulators for a sensor malfunction that can reduce air-bag protection.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it received five complaints
that the failure of the front crash sensor triggered an air-bag warning light. The
preliminary inquiry may involve 104,000 vehicles, the Washington-based agency said today on its Web site.

"There have been no incidents or accidents resulting from this and we are
cooperating fully" with the agency, Keith Price, a spokesman for Volkswagen's Auburn Hills, Mich.-based U.S. unit, said in an interview.

About half of the initial inquiries by NHTSA result in a recall. Volkswagen, based in
Wolfsburg, Germany, is Europe's biggest carmaker.

Ford Recalls 470,000 Mustangs to update air bag software

Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling 470,000 Ford Mustangs from the 2005-2008 model years to recalibrate how forcefully the air bag deploys on the front passenger side of the car.

Airbag Recalls - January 2008

Douglas Gan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:05:27 GMT

GM is recalling 181,516 MY 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. Dealers will install an energy-absorbing plastic piece to the headliner trim. The recall is expected to begin during March 2008. This recall was the subject of an investigation, OA-201-060918B, conducted by the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. 08V-046

Mitsubishi is recalling 7,340 MY 2006-2007 Endeavor vehicles. The right side lower seat belt anchor may separate during a severe vehicle crash. A severe crash could allow the seat belt to not properly restrain the passenger and potentially result in injury or death. Dealers will replace the front passenger side seat belt and bracket assembly. The recall is expected to begin during February 2008. 08V-022

Airbag Recalls - December 2007

Douglas Gan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:02:09 GMT

Maserati is recalling 56 MY 2008 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 seat belt pre-tensioner may not deploy increasing the risk of injuries. Dealers will replace the SRS ECU units as necessary. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-550

Honda is recalling 34,300 MY 2007-2008 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

Airbag Recalls - November 2007

Douglas Gan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:51:36 GMT

GM is recalling 57,100 MY 2007 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent passenger vehicles not equipped with optional roof rail airbags or optional sunroof. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact." During NHTSA impact tests, the interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard requirements. The results of this test indicated a possibility of an increased risk of head injury in a crash. Dealers will install an energy absorbing foam piece to each of the a-pillar trim assemblies. The recall is expected to begin during January 2008. 07V-520

Ford is recalling 45 MY 2008 Focus, Expedition, F250 and F350 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 'Occupant Crash Protection.' The driver air bag module may not have been properly assembled. This condition may prevent the driver air bag from properly deploying and reduce occupant protection in the event of a crash. Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. The recall began on November 20, 2007. 07V-541

Airbag Recalls - October 2007

Douglas Gan — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:04:19 GMT

Volvo is recalling 5,002 MY 2008 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

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 5,823 MY 2008 C-Class vehicles for failing to comply with some of the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection." The rear outboard seat belts do not comply with the lap-belt lockability requirement which enables the lap belt portion of the belt to be locked by the user to facilitate the use of older non-latch design child restraint devices. Under certain circumstances, this situation may cause the locking mechanism not to perform as required by the standard for use with older non-latch child restraints. Dealers will replace all potentially affected seat belts. The recall is expected to begin during November 2007. 07V-465

Airbag Recalls - September 2007

Douglas Gan — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:47:02 GMT

September 2007

Nissan is recalling 3,564 MY 2007 Armada sport utility vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 210, 'Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages.' The driver's side third row seat belt upper anchor bracket may be cracked. In the event of a crash, a seat occupant may not be properly restrained increasing the risk of personal injury. Dealers will replace the seat belt bracket. The recall is expected to begin on or about November 1, 2007. 07V-449

GM is recalling 531 MY 2008 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky passenger vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207, "Seating Systems." and Standard No. 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages." These vehicles may have one to four inboard seat stud fasteners that do not meet strength specification. In the event of a crash, the seat and seat belt assembly may not restrain the occupant as intended and could result in injury to the occupant. Dealers will inspect the inboard seat studs and, if necessary, remove the stud and install a bolt. The recall is expected to begin on or about October 10, 2007. 07V-454

Airbag Recalls - August 2007

Douglas Gan — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:02:22 GMT

August 2007

GM is recalling 437 MY 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

Airbag Recalls - July 2007

Douglas Gan — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:01:39 GMT

July 2007

Suzuki is recalling 75,697 MY 2006-2007 Forenza and Reno passenger vehicles. The front seat belt tongue will not latch into the buckle and, in rare cases, even the locked tongue will pop out by low stretching force. If the buckle does not latch completely, the buckle could release without pressing the release button. These buckle malfunctions, which could prevent a person from using the seat belt or could cause the seat belt to fail to function as designed, can increase the risk of injury in a crash. Dealers will replace the front driver and passenger seat belt buckles with the improved part. The recall is expected to begin during November 2007. 07V-315

General Motors Daewoo Auto & Technology is recalling 78 MY 2006-2007 Chevrolet Optra vehicles located in Guam and Saipan. These vehicles were built with a seat belt buckle with an improper ultrasonic weld of the spring rib and fixation rib of buckle undercover in both front seat belts. A spring rib or fixation rib could break and remain inside the buckle, and the seat belt tongue may not be inserted into the buckle, or the push button may become stuck, resulting in an occupant not being able to unlatch the buckle. These buckle malfunctions could prevent a person from using the seat belt system, and risk of injury to an unbelted person in a crash would be increased. Dealers will replace the front seat belt buckle. The recall is expected to begin during November 2007. 07V-328

Airbag Recalls - April, May, June 2007

Douglas Gan — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:58:29 GMT

June 2007

DaimlerChrysler is recalling 798 MY 2007-2008 Sebring and MY 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

DaimlerChrysler is recalling 39 MY 2007 Dodge and Freightliner Sprinter 2500 and 3500 trucks. The window bag module diffuser material may contain hairline cracks. In the case of a crash with a trigger signal for the window bag module, it is possible that such a diffuser may crack at the beginning of the air bag activation. Dealers will replace the window bag module. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign. 07V-246

May 2007

DaimlerChrysler is recalling 270,958 MY 2005 Town and Country and 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

Hyundai de Puerto Rico is recalling 2,967 MY 2005-2007 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

April 2007

BMW is recalling 225 MY 2007 6-Series passenger vehicles for failing to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 'Occupant Crash Protection.' The front passenger seat has a sensing system that detects 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 is expected to begin during May 2007. 07V-178