Mazda Air Bag Inflator Recall
The Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) has issued a recall for some of their popular vehicles. The main area of concern for the recall stems from the air bag inflators equipped in these cars, which may deploy and cause serious injury or even death to accident victims.
Recall Summary
The passenger frontal air bag modules of certain Mazda vehicles have been assembled with specific air bag inflators which may not function as intended. These inflators have been used in these vehicles as original and/or replacement equipment. In the incident of an automobile accident causing the front air bags to deploy, these defective inflators can rupture as a result of propellant degradation. Propellant degradation usually occurs after the long-term exposure to temperature cycling and absolute humidity.
Which Vehicles?
The recall affects approximately 205,377 Mazda vehicles on the roadway today. These vehicles include:
- 2007 to 2011: CX-7 and CX-9
- 2009 to 2011: Mazda6
Recall Remedy
Mazda will notify owners if their vehicle is listed in the recall. Owners may take their cars to their local dealers to replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator at no charge. Owners may contact the Mazda customer service line at (800) 222-5500 for more information.
Takata Air Bag Inflators
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been conducting extensive studies on the Takata air bag inflators for certain year and model vehicles. These studies have prompted the expansion of the Takata air bag recalls in older vehicles due to the long-term exposure to high humidity and heat, which can cause these air bags to subsequently fail. The process of degradation in these air bag inflators may cause the propellant to burn quickly, which can create more pressure than what the inflator can handle. In extreme cases, these inflators can rupture and propel shrapnel through the air bag and into the direct path of vehicle occupants. These defective inflators can cause a vehicle occupant to suffer traumatic, catastrophic or even fatal injuries in the event of an accident.
The NHTSA expects that an additional estimated 35 to 40 million inflators will be added to the ongoing recall by December 31, 2019. This estimate will add to the current 28.8 million inflators that have been recalled in the past.
Recent Accident Possibly Involving Takata Inflator
A car accident involving two vehicles occurred on July 19, 2017 in Holiday, Florida. One of the vehicles in the collision was identified as a 2002 Honda Accord. The frontal airbags of the Honda deployed upon impact, causing the motorist to suffer fatal injuries. The occupants in the other vehicle involved in the crash suffered injuries that were described as minor.
The Japanese automaker, Honda, believes that the deceased may have fallen victim to the defective air bag inflators of their car. Honda said in a statement that they have made numerous attempts to contact the owners of the vehicle affected by the Takata air bag inflator recall. However, the previous and current owners allegedly never had their car serviced for the recall. Local officials have not yet released an exact cause of the victim’s death due to ongoing investigation.
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Content Credit: https://www.nhtsa.gov/
Image Credit: By albertoadan via Pixabay
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