Sometimes exploding airbags are actually too much of a good thing.
Hyundai Motor Company in the United States is recalling 2007 through 2009 Elantra models for two safety defects that interfere with proper air bag deployment. Electrical sensor problems are responsible for both potential safety defects.
The largest Hyundai Elantra recall involves 188,697 model year 2007-2009 Elantra cars manufactured from July 14, 2006, through November 1, 2008. The front passenger seats in these Elantra models have a weight sensor designed to turn off the powerful right front airbag when occupants are underweight, a measure to prevent injuries to small people. The electrical connector for the weight sensor, under the center console between the front seats, could become “contaminated” if a drink is spilled in the cupholder above, Hyundai said in a recall notification to NHTSA.
This means that the front passenger airbag will explode in a crash regardless of the weight of the occupant and possibly hurt an undersized person.
The second Elantra airbag recall affects model year 2007 and 2008 Elantras. Here the two-stage airbags – lower pressure for drivers whose seat is closer to the steering wheel – might not function properly because of a defective position sensor for the seat track. A full-force airbag explosion is possible during a crash even for smaller occupants, thereby increasing the risk that the airbag will hurt the driver.
Owners may contact Hyundai’s customer assistance center at 1-800-633-5151. Owners can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
