Airbag Recalls

Below are recalls of vehicles due to an airbag defect. We are providing this recall information as a public service. Our car accident lawyers have a national reputation in the area of product liability and have been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications.

Volvo Recall: Possible Late Deployment of Airbags
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.

Chevrolet and Pontiac SUV Recall: Possible Airbag Defect and Injury During Accident
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.

Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger Recall: Injury Risk Due to Defective Air Bag
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.

Town and Country and Dodge Caravan Recall: Air Bag Corrosion and Decreased Air Bag Protection
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.

BMW Recall: Possible Deactivation of Air Bag and Personal Injury
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.

Nissan Versa Hatchback Recall: Air Bag Defect
Nissan is recalling 16,309 MY 2007 Versa hatchback model 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 is expected to begin on or about April 16, 2007.

Subaru Forester and Impreza Recall: Faulty Airbag
Subaru is recalling 7,004 MY 2006 Forester and Impreza vehicles. The wiring harness for the air bag occupant detection system in the front passenger seat may have been pinched during production. Pinching of the wiring harness between the floor crossmember and the seat mounting bracket could result in an electrical short in the passenger's front air bag. This could cause the air bag to become disabled and may not deploy in the event of a crash increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant. Also an electrical short circuit could cause a fire. Dealers will inspect to see if the wiring had been incorrectly routed under the seat bracket. If so, the dealer will repair any damaged wiring, reroute and secure the wiring harness in the correct location, and re-calibrate the occupant detection system as necessary. The recall is expected to begin on or about March 5, 2007.

Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia Recall: Faulty Air Bags
GM is recalling 13,032 MY 2007 Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia 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.

Honda Accord Recall: Possible Airbag System Defect
NHTSA has announced the recall of 81,000 Honda Accords, model year 2004 and 2005, due to a potentially-defective airbag system. Learn more about the Honda Accord recall.

Car accident "Super Lawyers" Fred Pritzker and Rich Ruohonen have a national practice. They and the other car accident lawyers at Pritzker | Ruohonen represent people injured in car accidents throughout the United States. Contact "Super Lawyers" Fred Pritzker and Rich Ruohonen for a free consultation about your car accident involving a defective airbag.

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