Airbag recall expands

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday announced it is expanding a probe into potentially defective air bags to 12,3 million vehicles, covering not only Takata airbags but also produced by TRW Automotive Holdings Corp now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen.

The air bags were installed in some vehicles from model year 2010 through 2019 sold by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Honda Motor Co, Hyundai Motor Co, Kia Motors Corp, Mitsubishi and Toyota Motor Corp.

The NHTSA, which started its airbag investigations in 2018, has reports of two crashes and two injuries related to the defect along with one death in a Toyota from TRW/ZF airbags.

This latest airbag news adds to the Takata airbag recalls, what NHTSA has called “the largest and
most complex safety recall in U.S. history”, involving vehicles by 19 vehicle builders that installed airbags made by Takata, mostly from 2002 through 2015. Some of those airbags could deploy explosively, injuring or even killing car occupants.

The NHTSA determined the root cause of the problem are airbags that use ammonium nitrate-based propellent without a chemical drying agent.

A humid environment, high temperatures, and age can add up to airbags that improperly inflate or even explode, sending shrapnel into the cabin.

Petite drivers in danger

To date, there have been 16 deaths due to this problem in the U.S. Worldwide, NHTSA reports there have been at least 24 deaths and 300 injuries.

To put these numbers into perspective, 41 people died each day during during the festive season between December 1 and January 8 this year.

Short drivers — especially petite females — literally face a higher risk of being injured by sitting too close to the steering wheel. When an airbag explode against a driver in a crash, it often breaks bones in the face and chest.

Airbag Renew Durban, on 124 Whittaker Avenue in Reservoir Hills, offers owners of older cars full SRS airbag support at affordable prices.

To have an old airbag checked costs R400 while new airbags can be fitted for about R2 000 a bag.

Call Airbag Renew on 083 297 0239.