Woodcliff Lake, NJ — January 11, 2016 — Just more than a dozen Rolls-Royce Phantom vehicles are part of a recall action launching January 11. Just 1 percent of this population is expected to carry improperly manufactured side curtain airbags, but the risk from these models is possibly dangerous, as it could leave occupants open to a greater chance of injury after impact.
The airbags are reportedly improperly positioned in these affected vehicles, making it less likely that they will deploy correctly. This issue could affect the front and rear passengers and be found in both the left and right sections of the vehicle. These systems will be inspected and replaced following a delivery stop.
According to the Part 573 report listed on the NHTSA site, this issue was first detected this October and led to a visual inspection: out of 924 parts included in the investigation, nine were found defective.
“In early November 2015, further analyses revealed that a manufacturing process error could lead to an inappropriate assembly of the side curtain air bag at the sub-supplier,” the report states. “The sub-supplier and supplier subsequently determined from their component production records the specific start date of side curtain air bags that may not have been produced to specification.”
This isn’t the first Rolls-Royce recall this year with a small target population: earlier this year, a single 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost for airbag issues in the front seats. It was manufactured in January 2014 and found to possibly violate the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The Phantoms in this latest recall have the model years 2015 and 2016.
