Tag Archives: air bag safety problem

Unsecured Side Curtain Air Bags Found In GM Vehicles

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General Motors has decided that a safety defect affecting airbags exists in certain 2010-2015 and 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles.

According to the defect report, in October 2020, a third-party vehicle repair business contacted GM requesting repair assistance on a 2018 Buick Enclave. After removing the headliner to attempt to repair a sunroof water leak, the repair shop identified two fasteners that were not installed and one missing weld nut attaching the roof-rail airbag (RRAB) to the vehicle. Further investigation found that certain stampings associated with the connection of the roof rail airbag to the vehicles had damaged, out of position or missing weld nuts. Although the problem was identified during vehicle assembly, the repairs may have been missed or preformed incorrectly.

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts GM’s number for this recall is N202321200 and the NHTSA campaign number is 21V246.

GM Airbags Investigated

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The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) have opened an investigation into certain 2020-2021 Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles because of a problem affecting the airbag system. The ODI have received fifteen complaints from consumers who say that the air bag system in their GM vehicle malfunctioned. Nine complaints allege the illumination of an air bag malfunction indicator (MIL) and six crash incidents had significant frontal collision damage but the driver frontal air bags failed to deploy. All the complaints received involve either GM vehicles covered by GM Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 21-NA-005 or CT4, CT5 and XT4 vehicles.

The TSB, issued in March 2021, addresses air bag MIL illumination accompanied by diagnostic trouble codes B0001-1B or B0012-0D. It also cites rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver air bag inflator as the cause of the air bag MIL illumination. Illumination of the air bag MIL under these circumstances may result in a non-deployment of the driver airbag during a frontal collision and increased risk of injury to the driver.

ODI is opening this preliminary investigation to determine the scope and severity of the potential problem and to fully assess the potential safety-related issues.

Vehicles Affected Include
2020-2021 Cadillac CT4
2020-2021 Cadillac CT5
2020-2021 Cadillac Escalade
2020-2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV
2020-2021 Cadillac XT5
2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500
2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 3500
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 4500HD
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 5500HD
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 6500HD
2020-2021 Chevrolet Suburban
2021 Chevrolet Suburban 1500
2020-2021 Chevrolet Tahoe
2020-2021 GMC Sierra 1500
2020-2021 GMC Sierra 2500
2020-2021 GMC Sierra 3500
2020 GMC Sierra Denali
2020-2021 GMC Yukon
2020-2021 GMC Yukon XL

VW / Jeep – Illuminated Airbag Warning

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An illuminated airbag warning light in certain 2019 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 Volkswagen Atlas vehicles could mean an airbag crash sensor needs replacement.

ZF North America, the manufacturer of Remote Accelerometer Sensors (RAS) installed in these vehicles, are recalling certain RAS built from a specific production period. According to the defect report filed with the NHTSA, soldering connections inside the sensors may have been damaged due to exposure to higher than expected temperatures during manufacturing. As reported by FCA and VW, if present in a vehicle, an affected airbag crash sensor may not communicate correctly with the airbag control module. If this occurs, the airbag warning light will illuminate.

Warning: There is a risk of delayed airbag deployment during a frontal crash or a risk of a non-deployment in low speed collisions.

Those receiving notices will be asked to return to their dealers to have the air bag crash sensor replaced. Chrysler’s number for this recall is V63. Volkswagen’s number for this recall is 69AL. The NHTSA campaign number is 20E-052.

Ford Explorer And Lincoln Aviator Airbag Deployment Problem

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Ford have identified a problem affecting the seat back side airbags in a small number of 2020 Ford Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator vehicles.

According to the defect report, the front seat back sub-assemblies may have been placed in the wrong work in progress rack after a machine interruption. Some of the DC runner nuts may have not been torqued, leaving the air bag and seat back module not fully secured. The problem could delay the positioning of the air bag cushioning and the deployment of the airbag could be affected.

Owners receiving notices will be asked to return their their Ford or Lincoln dealer so that they can verify that the fasteners have been properly tightened. Ford’s number for this recall is 20S48 and the NHTSA campaign number is 20V-497.

GM Roof Rail Airbag Defect

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General Motors had decided that a defect relating to vehicle safety exists in certain 2020 Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC trucks and SUVs. GM will be contacting owners of affected vehicles with instructions to return to their dealerships for repairs.

According to the recall report, the diffuser component of the roof rail airbag inflator may have an improper crimp that would allow it to separate from the inflator during airbag deployment. If this happens, the performance of the airbag may be degraded and could increase the risk of injury to occupants in an accident.

Vehicles Affected
2020 Buick Enclave
2020 Cadillac XT5
2020 Cadillac XT6
2020 Chevrolet Blazer
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500
2020 Chevrolet Silverado 3500
2020 Chevrolet Traverse
2020 GMC Acadia
2020 GMC Sierra 1500
2020 GMC Sierra 2500
2020 GMC Sierra 3500

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect roof rail airbag modules. GM’s number for this recall is N202305380 and the NHTSA campaign number is 20V-446.

Lincoln MKX And Lincoln Nautilus Seat Wiring Damage

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Ford Motor Company will be asking the owners of certain 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX and 2019-2020 Lincoln Nautilus SUVs, to return to their dealership to fix a wiring problem that could affect the air bags. These vehicles are equipped with 16 way electric tilt seats.

According to the safety report, the seats in these vehicles may have a wiring harness that was not properly protected from the edge of the seat cushion frame. When the tilt function is used, it is possible that the wires could become damaged and, as a result, the airbag system may not function as intended.

Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this problem, but they will be asking owners to return to their dealerships to have the wire harness inspected and replaced as necessary. Also, a protective flocking tape will be installed onto the exposed edge of the 16-way seat cushion frames. Ford’s number for this recall is 20S37 and the NHTSA campaign number is 20V-414.

Takata Airbag Recall – Nissan

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Nissan will be contacting the owners of certain 2012-2017 Nissan and Infiniti trucks and vans because of a defect with the drivers airbag in their vehicles. The problem affects PSDI-5D air bag inflators manufactured at the Takata plant in Mexico

According to the defect report, overloading of the driver front air bag inflator propellant could result in an over pressurized airbag deployment. The problem could cause the airbag inflator to rupture and propel metal fragments throughout the vehicle, possibly causing injury or death to occupants.

Vehicles Affected
2011-2012 Infiniti QX56
2013-2015 Nisssan Armada
2012-2017 Nisssan NV
2013-2015 Nisssan Titan

Those receiving notices will be asked to return to their Nissan or Infiniti dealer to have the driver airbag replaced. The NHTSA campaign number for this recall is 20V-188.

Click here to view the complete recall notice.

Toyota Avalon, Corolla and Matrix Airbag May Not Deploy As Intended

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Toyota will be contacting the owners of certain Avalon, Corolla and Matrix cars because of a problem that could result in the air bags and seat belt pretensioners not deploying.

According to the defect report, the affected vehicles may have been manufactured with an airbag control module that does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients generated in certain severe crashes where there is a large engine compartment intrusion before deceleration. In these cases, the crash sensor and wiring may be damaged and shorted before the deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU. This would result in incomplete or non deployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners and an increased chance of injury to occupants.

Vehicles Affected
2012-2018 Toyota Avalon
2013-2018 Toyota Avalon Hybrid
2011-2019 Toyota Corolla
2011-2013 Toyota Matrix

Owners will be notified to return to their Toyota dealer to have a noise filter installed between the airbag control module and its wire harness. In some cases, an inspection may be carried out to determine if a noise filter is necessary before installing it.