In a recent Mercedes Benz airbag replacement recall, several vehicles have been built with defective airbags. These defective airbags have resulted in serious injury and death.

The automakers have recalled hundreds of their vehicles due to the defect, which afflicts Takata-made ammonium nitrate airbags. Allegedly, the propellant cartridges in these defective airbags may degrade overtime and rupture, causing serious injury and death.

The affected vehicles involved in the recent recall include automakers and manufacturers such as: Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Mercedes Benz.

The Mercedes Benz airbag replacement includes the following subclass of vehicles: 2005-2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 2010-2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, 2011-2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabrio, 2010-2017 Mercedes Benz E-Class Coupe, 2009-2012 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, 2010-2015 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, 2009-2010 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class, 2009-2012 Mercedes-Benz R-Class, 2007-2008 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, 2011-2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class.

Takata, an automotive parts company located in Japan, has issued a Mercedes Benz airbag replacement recall allegedly due to this defect.

The recall emphasizes that the front defective airbags can explode and injure the passenger and driver. There have been reports that these front defective airbags have exploded, occasionally resulting in fatalities.

Automaker regulators have connected the airbag defect to the airbag inflator. The airbag inflator consists of a metal cartridge that is loaded with propellant. The inflator was manufactured to quickly inflate when it becomes activated.

However, the defective airbags manufactured by Takata will allegedly explode with a force that causes the metal cartridge holding the propellant in place to rupture, causing metal shrapnel to dissociate and fly about within a vehicle. Therefore, instead of the airbag acting as a life-saving device, it instead becomes a seriously dangerous device, acting more like a hand grenade.

The propellant within the Takata airbags is composed of ammonium nitrate. This chemical is also what is used during the manufacturing of bombs. In normal situations, when an airbag becomes deployed, the sole use of the ammonium nitrate is to simply deploy the airbag.

Regulators explain that a lack of adequate drying agent is the cause of the airbag deploying with so much force that metal shrapnel explodes. The drying agent is what is needed to prevent the propellant from degrading and to allow the airbag to deploy with just the right amount of force. Takata defective airbags, however, may not have enough drying agent which causes the airbags to deploy with too much force when they should not deploy.

In addition, the risk is made worse with high heat and humidity. A hotter and damper climate makes the propellant degrade even faster.

The Mercedes Benz airbag replacement is allegedly due to this Takata airbag defect. Due to many other vehicles affected with this recall, Takata filed for bankruptcy in June 2017.

Questions also pertain to why automakers hadn’t released announcements regarding the defective Takata airbags sooner.

The automakers are being held liable for not only failing to inform their customers of the Takata airbag defect, but in addition failing to have the necessary parts and equipment to repair the vehicles involved in the recall.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The airbag injury attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual defective airbag recall lawsuit or defective airbag recall class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, defective airbag recall lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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