NHTSA made public this morning more airbag safety recalls on BMW X3 and X5 crossovers, Toyota Prius hybrids, and large Volvo Crossovers and sedans. More than 50,000 vehicles are involved in the latest airbag recalls.
Only at BMW is the supplier Takata responsible for – once again – defective welds on its PSDI-X inflator. The Toyota recall involves Chinese supplier ARC Qing Hua (Xian) Automotive Company. Volvo did not name the supplier as it appears to be a manufacturing defect at Volvo.
BMW model year 2015 X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i, X3 xDrive35i, X3 xDrive28d, X4 xDrive28i and X4 xDrive35i vehicles, and 2014-2015 X5 xDrive35i, X5 sDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, and 2014 X5 xDrive35d vehicles are affected. They may have a driver’s frontal air bag inflator that was improperly welded. When it explodes shrapnel is sent into the interior. This is the Takata safety defect that resulted in the largest automotive recall in history. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
The air bag safety defect on 2016 Toyota Prius hybrids is caused by an inflator manufacturing error. This can result in the inadvertent partial inflation of the front-passenger air bag. Toyota uses a “hybrid” type air bag inflator, which contains compressed gas and explosive propellant in the same combustion chamber.
The “burst disk” in some inflators may have been improperly welded and/or mis-assembled. The disk membrane could burst only from the stored pressure of compressed gas in the inflator, allowing the gas to escape without a deployment command. This causes partial inflation of the front passenger air bag.
This Prius safety defect occurs when the hybrid is parked and unoccupied for a period of time. An airbag that inflates this way increases the risk of injury and the possibility of a crash. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Water leaks into the passenger compartment on Volvo 2016-2017 Volvo XC90 and S90 vehicles caused by the a/c drain hose can negatively affect air bag deployment increasing the risk of occupant injury. If the leakage has not been detected over a period of time, this could affect SRS systems (airbag) and engine management systems.
The driver may see various warning messages displayed in the Driver Information Module identifying that a fault may be present caused by wet or corroded wiring. Owners may contact Volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
