Seatbelt, Airbag Recalls Will Affect Many Automakers

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Jan. 16, 2017 – A Swedish auto parts supplier that serves thousands of vehicle models will conduct a safety recall of its seatbelts and airbags, according to documents compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Autoliv, Inc. has announced that it will recall products that are malfunctioning due to manufacturing defects, which could potentially lead to failure.

The Defect

Autoliv will recall A12 seat belt and air bag initiators manufactured between June 16, 2016 and Nov. 4, 2016. These may contain the wrong generant mix ratio, which means that both the air bags and seat belt pretensioners could fail to deploy during a crash. This could lead to the serious injury or death of the vehicle occupants.

Timeline of Events

  • Oct. 3, 2016 – Two tests that occurred at different Autoliv plants showed nonconforming results, prompting the manufacturer to open an investigation into the issue.
  • Nov. 4, 2016 – Autoliv identified the defect and a potential cause, noting that a Programmable Logic Controller had been loading the incorrect chemical ratio and needed to be reprogrammed.
  • Nov. 16, 2016 – Autoliv determined that a software programming change on the Programmable Logic Controller was ultimately responsible for the error, and used this information to pinpoint the exact dates during which the defects may have gone through.
  • Nov. 30, 2016 – The manufacturer held a meeting with the NHTSA regarding the issue and discussed next steps.

Resolution

All vehicle manufacturers that use these products have been informed, and will work to send out recall notices to those who have purchased affected vehicles.

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