General Motors (GM) is recalling almost 900 cars in the United States and Canada as a precaution, as the vehicles' Takata airbag inflators may burst and launch metal fragments during a collision.
The recall includes Chevrolet Camaro, Sonic, and Volt automobiles, as well as certain Buick Verano, all from the 2013 model year. There are also several 2013 Chevrolet Trax vehicles from Canada that are affected.
The Issue Points to Explosion-Prone Airbag Inflators
According to AP News, GM claims in papers published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday, August 1, that a manufacturing issue may cause the driver's front airbag inflator to rupture during an accident.
The inflators are part of a batch produced by Takata that is now being looked at by the agency yet has not been recalled.
Takata's airbags were designed to inflate with a tiny explosion, achieved by using the highly combustible ammonium nitrate. The chemical, however, may degrade with time and detonate with too much energy, causing the metal canister to shatter and release shrapnel.
Since May 2009, at least 26 individuals in the US have been killed by the inflators. More than 30 people died elsewhere, including in Malaysia and Australia. There are also roughly 400 individuals hurt.
At least 67 million Takata inflators were recalled in the US as a result of the potential for the hazardous defect, making it the greatest sequence of car recalls in the country's history. Millions, according to the US government, have not been fixed. Globally, over 100 million inflators have been recalled. The Japanese company Takata went bankrupt due to these airbag issues.
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Concerns on Takata Airbags With Desiccant
Airbags recalled by GM include a desiccant, a chemical that absorbs moisture and was not used in earlier recalls, as AP News reported. According to federal records, the automaker argues that the issue is isolated to a single batch of Takata inflators and does not impact any other cars.
NHTSA is looking into whether or not Takata airbags with desiccant really blow up and shoot out shrapnel. The probe, initiated in 2021, encompasses 30 million inflators used in over 200 models produced by 20 automakers, including GM.
In May 2020, the agency made the decision not to recall the desiccant-containing inflators but to instead keep an eye on them.
Documents state that GM was informed in March that a 2013 Camaro in Brazil had an inflator explosion in May 2022. The business claims that further inflator investigation is ongoing, but preliminary results suggest the blast was due to a manufacturing fault rather than ammonium nitrate degradation.
Center for Auto Safety head Michael Brooks stated that drivers are left wondering whether or not their cars are safe to use because of GM and NHTSA's lack of oversight on air bag inflators. Brooks said, "It's kind of absurd that we're left in the dark about what's in our vehicles due to confidentiality provisions" offered to manufacturers.
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