Airbag Failures | Auto Defects

Defective airbags may not deploy in the event of an accident or collision. Other defective airbags deploy inadvertently and cause an accident. Other airbag defects reported include delayed airbag deployment and non-deployment, leading to severe injury.

Since the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration began recording crash statistics, many American motorists and passengers have passed away as a direct result of defective airbags. However, these are only the reported events. Many additional deaths and disabling injuries have been linked to defective airbags through litigation.

In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently updated its list of vehicles that contain airbags that can kill drivers or passengers when the defective airbags are released. The number of vehicles with immediate risk of these dangerous airbags stands in the tens of millions.

A recent investigation includes a deep dive into the airbag safety of vehicles assembled by Honda Motor, Ford Motor Co, ,Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Co, Nissan Motor, Subaru Tesla, Ferrari NV, Nissan Motor, Mazda, Daimler AG, BMW Chrysler, Porsche Cars, Jaguar Land Rover (owned by Tata Motors) and others.

These vehicles have Takata airbags that may shoot metal when airbags are inflated, release with too much force, or not release at all. Four people have already died from this severe issue. Medical professionals initially thought one woman’s death was a stabbing.

How are Airbags Defective?

Airbag inflators house a propellant that turns into a gas that fills an airbag when triggered by a collision. If the inflators rupture, as reported, metal fragments may strike vehicle occupants like shrapnel, causing serious injuries.

The defect in these airbag inflators creates openings that allow moisture to leak into them, reaching the ammonium nitrate and creating a safety risk.

Airbags unquestionably have saved lives. However, airbags that are not functioning properly can not only provide a false sense of security but can contribute to and even be the primary cause of an injury or death.

Design defects, negligent auto repairs, and manufacturing defects have all been suspected in airbag defect lawsuits. Airbags can be recalled to due any of the following defective parts:

• Sensors: non-deployment
• Dangerous Inflation path (upward and then outward is the safest path for the release of an airbag)
• Overly-powerful inflation (unnecessarily forceful impact)
• Internal Tethers (affecting the shape the airbag is released in)
• Release of metal fragments
• Delayed Airbag Deployment
• Inadvertent Airbag Deployment

What is Airbag Non-deployment?

If an airbag fails to deploy, obviously all further safety bets are off. Manufacturing defects, design defects and negligent auto repairs have all been suspected in defective airbag lawsuits.

Generally, an airbag will deploy when a sufficient force hits a threshold and initiates the release of the airbag. But there may be defective sensors in an automobile, and an airbag may not deploy at all, or may deploy only partially or late. In such cases, death, severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries and permanent disabilities are possible.

Manufacturers can improperly design, test, or install sensors. Failures in software or calibration of the airbag firing threshold can cause an airbag sensor to not detect a collision. Other causes of airbag non-deployment may include:

• Airbag Module Defect: a defective airbag module may prevent an airbag from firing during an accident. This is most likely the result of inherent design or manufacturing defects.
• Poor airbag design
• Cheap construction materials
• Negligent manufacturing
• Auto Repair Negligence
• Faulty Steering Wheel Wiring
• Corroded or severed electronics: Airbag failures can occur when manufacturers choose to run wires through areas that make them vulnerable to being severed during a crash. If sensor wiring is damaged or severed, signals will fail to reach the airbag module and it will not deploy.
• Defective software
• Improper testing & quality control

Airbag Defects

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has repeatedly warned that tens of millions of cars with Takata airbags face an increased risk of exploding during a collision after prolonged exposure to warm weather and humid conditions.

The NHTSA says, “Long-term exposure to high heat and humidity can cause these air bags to explode when deployed. Such explosions have caused injuries and deaths.”

In the United States, there are 50 million defective Takata airbags in 37 million vehicles. Many of them are in states such as Texas, California, and Ohio, where hot, humid summer weather can cause the chemical propellant in defective Takata airbags to explode.

Any vehicle with a defective airbag may be a safety risk, and the NHTSA has warned that more vehicles will soon be recalled, bringing the total number of recalled Takata air bags to between 65 million and 70 million by 2019.

Who Has Recalled Airbags?

Six automobile makers were involved in the initial Takata recall. The issue quickly engulfed 19 automakers, and Takata was soon inundated with hundreds of lawsuits. The company failed to act quickly, and more accidents were reported. Takata said it had little idea as to which cars used its defective inflators, or even what the root cause was.

Takata first explained that propellant chemicals were improperly stored during assembly, causing metal airbag inflators to burst open due to excessive pressure inside. Then, the company blamed humid weather which was accompanied with additional recalls.

Takata has now admitted that rust and bad welds on inflators are also at fault. Company documents show that Takata’s Mexico plant allowed a defect rate that was “six to eight times above” acceptable limits. Defective air bags were shipped and sold to millions of customers.

Takata, under fire for years, finally filed for bankruptcy-court protection in the U.S. and Japan, as the company faces billions of dollars in legal liabilities resulting from years of recalls and lawsuits.

Takata’s recalled air bag inflators have been linked to at least 180 injuries and 20 deaths. Automakers such as Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Honda Motor and Mazda have paid huge settlements to settle personal injury and product liability claims. It is the largest auto recall in United States history.

Honda & Takata Air Bag Recalls

Honda Motor recalled over 1 million Acura and Honda vehicles in the U.S. with defective air bag inflators that potentially could explode and send sharp metal into the vehicle, endangering drivers and passengers. Honda announced the recall of Takata airbags, which is a part of the largest auto recall in U.S. history, involving 50 million defective air bags, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA has said that 15 people in the United States have been killed by faulty Takata air bag inflators, and possible hundreds have allegedly been injured following car collisions when airbags fail to deploy or explode and injure passengers.

Due to electrical noise, a component in the air bag control module may fail causing the front air bags, side curtain air bags, and/or seatbelt pretensioners to deploy inadvertently while the vehicle is being operated.

The NHTSA has followed Takata’s air bag recalls and investigated the company’s negligence for several years. In one case, Honda found defective air bag inflators made at a Takata facility in Mexico in which the company “manufacturing process errors” resulted in excessive moisture into the inflator. According to Honda, the moisture produced a high amount of pressure, causing it to rupture. The potential airbag explosions sent pieces of metal into the vehicle and injuring passengers.