US Government Investigating Faulty Airbags in 12 Million Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is conducting an investigation into faulty airbags that may fail to deploy in an accident. The NHTSA has expanded its search to include airbags in cars made by six different automakers. Reportedly, 12.3 million vehicles will be affected by this investigation.

Tragically, this widened investigation was spurred on by five deaths that reportedly were related to faulty safety systems. Some reports say that the death toll could be as high as eight. Four of these deaths involved Hyundai or Kia vehicles, and three were reported with Fiat Chrysler vehicles.

This investigation involves airbags made by TRW, owned by the German auto-parts company ZF.

Consumer Reports says that the allegedly faulty airbags in question fail to inflate as they should during a crash. Allegedly, both the passenger and driver-side airbags are failing to deploy. According to Consumer Reports’ summary of the alleged defect, “it’s possible that the crashes are sending harmful electrical signals through sensor wiring that damages the control units.”

Because the problem affects so many vehicles made by a number of car makers, the problem “requires an industry-wide solution, not a case-by-case evaluation,” says William Wallace, safety policy advocate for Consumer Reports.

Because of the severity of the problem, the NHTSA reportedly has upgraded their investigation from a preliminary one to an engineering analysis. This is reportedly one step towards ordering a recall.

Multiple Recalls Already Issued

Recalls over the issue were started in 2016, when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalled 1.4 million Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles equipped with the allegedly faulty airbags. Because the problem originated with the wiring, and not the airbags themselves, other vehicles with the same airbags but different wiring are not subject to the recall.

For its part, Honda is reportedly conducting its own internal review of the possibly affected airbags. The company reportedly cooperated with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its report.

Last year, Hyundai and Kia recalled almost 1.1 vehicles as a result of the issue. Reportedly, that recall was instituted about a year after NHTSA began investigating the problem. 

Experts in the field have criticized the auto industry for not responding swiftly enough to the alleged faulty airbags problem, pointing the finger at both the automakers involved and the NHTSA.

Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, says about the airbag recall that “while the first fatality reports emerged three years ago, it has taken a higher body count for more significant action to be taken by NHTSA and most impacted manufactures remain silent. The industry needs to do better,” as quoted by NPR.  

Further enhancing the criticism of this issue is the fact that this is not the first time in recent memory when a large number of vehicles were affected by airbags with defects, to a degree that necessitated a recall. There is a currently a recall on vehicles made by 19 automakers that are equipped with airbags made by Takata. A problem in these airbags created the risk that their metal inflators might explode, sending shrapnel all over the interior of the vehicle.

Consumer Reports notes that the NHTSA said that the ensuing Takata recall resulted in what has been dubbed “the largest and most complex safety recall in US history.” Car owners and industry experts alike may wonder why another airbag problem is occurring again. 

Join a Free Defective Vehicle Airbag Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own a vehicle with a defective ZF-TRW airbag, you may qualify to join this defective airbag class action lawsuit investigation. You don’t need to have been in an accident to participate. See if your vehicle is included by looking it up on our investigation page.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.