Warren, Mich. – Dec. 29, 2016 – General Motors will recall certain 2017 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles for defects with Takata air bag inflators. These problems were similar to the reasons that led to a recent recall of 2016 Malibu vehicles.
The Defect
General Motors will recall all 2017 Malibu vehicles manufactured on Nov. 10, 2016, according to documents compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The right-hand rear side air bag inflators in these cars appear to lack sufficient welds, which could cause the inflators to separate at random. As a result, these air bags are at risk for spontaneous deployment that can project debris and cause injury or death among vehicle occupants.
Timeline of Events
- November 13, 2016 – Takata informed General Motors inflators have ruptured during lot tests of modules.
- November 14, 2016 – General Motors opened an investigation into the issue and attempted to locate all of the other inflators that originated from the same lot as the failed component.
- November 16, 2016 – Further tests of the failed inflator confirmed the underlying issue was an incorrect seam weld. No other issues could be found in inflators from the same lot.
- November 18, 2016 – General Motors decided to conduct a recall on the entire lot, affecting every Malibu vehicle made on November 10.
Resolution
General Motors will send notifications to all vehicle owners containing additional information about the recall schedule. As these cars are still under warranty, no reimbursement will be offered, but dealers will replace the side air bag modules free of charge.
