In certain driving conditions, the affected vehicles’ software for airbag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) activates a test that causes the frontal airbags not to deploy and the seat belts not to tighten up to protect occupants during a crash, the automaker said. Oh, goodness, no. The latest airbag recalls aren’t the fault of the parts themselves.
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The sensor module on these vehicles can randomly enter a diagnostic mode during which the frontal airbags and seatbelt pretensioners will not deploy, even in an actual accident.
Doing so means the front air bags and “seat belt pretensioners” won’t deploy in the event of a crash, the agency claimed.
The company learned of the problem in May when a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado crashed and its air bags didn’t deploy.
GM opened an investigation into the issue in June and conducted road testing in August before deciding on a recall. It finally came to a conclusion late last month when GM made a decision to perform a safety recall. GM says that the issue can be resolved simply by installing a software update on the affected vehicles.
“As vehicles continue to adopt more and more complex software systems I think it’s essential that they are able to receive OTA updates, especially in a case like this where the update is safety critical”.
Detroit, MIVehicles with Takata airbags aren’t the only ones experiencing airbag failures and other issues, even if they are getting the bulk of the attention these days. “And it has to be open source in order to work and be transparent and interoperable”. Alternatively, owners can check at NHSTA or GM Owner Center websites if their vehicle identification number is covered by the recall.
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This, added Morrow, “is going to continue to get worse unless manufacturers take it seriously”.
