Chrysler and Dodge are recalling nearly 285,000 cars because their side curtain airbag inflators can explode, sending metal shrapnel into the cabin where it could injure or kill.
Recalled models include the:
Airbag inflators are tiny capsules of chemicals that combine in an accident to create a rapidly expanding gas that inflates airbags. That gas should escape out of a nozzle designed for that purpose. But Stellantis, parent company of both Chrysler and Dodge, tells federal safety officials that side-curtain airbag inflators in some of its cars can explode instead.
The company believes that only cars built on certain dates contain “suspect inflators.” These capsules “may have had moisture introduced into the inflator during supplier manufacturing that may cause internal corrosion over time.”
The company says it “is not aware of any accidents or injuries potentially relating to this issue.”
To fix the problem, dealers will replace the side curtain airbag inflators on both sides of the vehicle. Dealers never charge for recall repairs.
Echoes of Takata
The problem sounds much like the issue in the Takata airbag recall – history’s largest automotive recall. Takata didn’t manufacture the airbag inflators in these cars. The Associated Press reports that these come from Joyson Safety Systems, “a company that ended up acquiring Japanese airbag maker Takata after its bankruptcy.”
Takata airbags, under large-scale recall since 2013, were used by at least 34 automakers in cars sold on at least five continents. The federal government’s car safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), says at least 67 million cars sold in America used the parts.
NHTSA believes that about 50 million of those cars have been repaired. That leaves up to 17 million on the road, putting their drivers and passengers in danger.
The Associated Press has been unable to determine “whether Takata was involved in designing the recalled Dodge and Chrysler airbags,” or if Joyson inflators use the same propellant as Takata models.
Deal With This Today
Stellantis has not urged owners to park the cars and stop driving them until the repair is complete. But the company has taken that step under similar circumstances in the past. We would urge owners to contact their dealership about a repair as fast as possible.
Check whether your car has any outstanding recalls with the easy VIN tool at our recall center.
