KILLER Air Bags inflate while driving

Automakers recall 2.1M vehicles for faulty air bags

Jon Swartz, USA TODAY 3:04 p.m. EST January 31, 2015

 

 

Senate Commerce Committee member Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., displays the parts and function of a defective air bag made by Takata of Japan that was linked to multiple deaths and injuries in cars driven in the U.S., during the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

 

 

The auto industry's troubles with air bags deepened Saturday when federal regulators said three major carmakers will recall 2.1 million older vehicles.
 

Toyota, Chrysler and Honda vehicles are being recalled for a second fix for faulty air bags that may inadvertently inflate while the car is running.
 

The recall includes some Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Avalon models made from 2002 to 2004.
 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says all of the vehicles covered in Saturday's announcement had already been under a recall for the faulty air bags, but the carmakers' original attempts to fix the defects worked only about 85% of the time.
 

There have been about 400 reported cases of faulty air bag deployments in the recalled vehicles, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a briefing. The incidents resulted in minor injuries but no known deaths, he said.
 

The recall underscores the difficulty automakers and regulators face with increasingly complex electronic systems.
 

Air bag failures were central to the controversy last year over General Motors' delay in recalling millions of vehicles with defective ignition switches that could unexpectedly cut off power to the safety systems.

Under Saturday's announced recall, automakers will fully replace the faulty electronic control unit, which is made by TRW Automotive Holdings of Livonia, Mich. In the previous recall, the unit was only partially replaced. The new remedy will be available to all affected vehicles by the end of the year.
 

The NHTSA is urging consumers with cars under the first recall to have the partial unit installed, even if they have to return to the dealer under the second recall.
 

"Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, (consumers) and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions," Rosekind said.
 

About 39 air bags that had been replaced under the previous recall inadvertently deployed again.

The agency says about 1 million Toyota and Honda vehicles involved in the new recalls are subject to separate recalls related to defective air bags made by Takata of Japan. Those air bags can deploy and rupture with enough force to cause injury or death.

In nine cases, cars had problems that included both the inadvertent deployment and the Takata rupture. Three of those cases resulted in injuries, including eye injuries, scratches and burns.

The announcement comes days after the family of Carlos Solis filed a lawsuit against Takata. Solis, 35, died on Jan. 18 in a minor crash in a Houston suburb. The lawsuit alleges that as an air bag in his 2002 Honda Accord inflated, it sent a piece of metal into his neck. Solis died at the scene. His death has not officially been linked to the air bag.

http://www.wusa9.com/story/money/cars/2015/01/31/automakers-recall-2-million-vehicles/22647907/