General Motors have decided that a defect relating to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2009-2010 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. The front passenger seat frame could rub against and damage the passenger presence sensor (PPS) module wiring, causing the system to improperly suppress the front passenger airbag. Drivers should be alerted of a problem in three different ways.

  • The service airbag message will be displayed in the DIC.
  • The airbag telltale light may be illuminated.
  • The indicator will show that the passenger airbag is off even if a passenger is in the front passenger seat.

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Nissan is conducting a safety campaign on certain 2016 Nissan Sentra and Leaf vehicles to inspect the passenger side airbag module and main body harness. Due to a supplier error, the front passenger airbag wiring harness connector cylinder may have been manufactured out of specification. The wiring harness connector could disconnect from the airbag module completely.

  • If the connector becomes fully disengaged, a warning lamp will illuminate but the airbag will not deploy in a crash where it is designed to deploy.
  • If the connector becomes partially disengaged, a warning lamp may not illuminate.

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Toyota will be contacting the owners of certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles about problems affecting airbags and the emissions control system.

Last Tuesday, Toyota announced that certain 2010-2012 Toyota Prius and Lexus CT200H cars could have air bag inflators with small cracks in the welds. The problem could lead to the separation of the inflator chambers and an increased risk of injury to occupants.

The automaker announced on Wednesday, that approximately 2.87 million cars may have a fault in the emissions control system. Over time the problem could lead to fuel leaks and an increased chance of a vehicle fire. Certain 2006-2015 Prius, Auris and Corolla models are affected. Continue reading

The owners of certain 2011-2016 Jeep Wrangler right hand drive vehicles will be returning to their dealerships to repair a problem affecting the safety of the airbag system. According to the defect report, vehicles subject to dusty environments could ingest dust into the airbag clock spring assembly. The circuit could become compromised and result in non-deployment of the airbags and an illuminating airbag warning lamp. Continue reading

The occupant classification system (OCS) of certain 2016 Toyota Avalon and 2016 Toyota Camry vehicles may have not been properly calibrated and could fail to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for occupant crash protection. The problem could result in non-deployment of the front passenger airbag and knee airbag, leaving front seat passengers unprotected during an accident. Continue reading

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced that they will be expanding and accelerating the recall of Takata air bag inflators. The decision comes after the NHTSA and an independent expert reviewed the findings of three independent investigations into the ruptures and concluded that a combination of time, environmental moisture and fluctuating high temperatures contributed to the degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators. The degradation caused the propellant to burn too quickly, rupturing the inflator module and sending shrapnel through the air bag and into the vehicle occupants. Continue reading