General Motors is recalling 308,000 Chevrolet Impalas in the US and Canada with airbags that may fail in a crash.
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GM says it’s possible minor damage to the wires may not cause all the airbags to fail, but even a small amount of damage could cause the passenger-side airbag to fail. The company chose to add abrasion-resistant tape at the time, helping prevent wire damage, however vehicles built before February 10, 2010, lacked the additional protection.
“Damage may also cause the air bag fuse to short resulting in a loss of all air bags and seat-belt pretensions”. In certain occasions, the damage will make it impossible for the sensor to recognize there’s someone on the seat and thus disable the corresponding airbag.
“The front-passenger seat frame may contact and damage the wires of the passenger-presence sensor module”, NHTSA said in its recall summary. Both conditions increase the risk of an injury in a crash.
GM said it does not believe there is a safety defect in any of the 6.8 million vehicles, but agreed to the initial recall after talks with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
GM will replace damaged wires or fix them with anti-abrasion tape, but the company has not yet announced a fix schedule.
GM has not disclosed when repairs to the affected vehicles are to be made.
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If you believe that you own one of these vehicles and have further questions, you’re encouraged to contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and ask about recall #36110.
