There has been a rash of recalls lately from the top car manufacturers around the world. The recalls in January alone could reach up to 14,000,000 units from various car companies. There is an especially high number of vehicles with faulty airbags.
Why are there increasing car recalls?
Honda and Acura will recall 2,300,000 vehicles that have the Takata PSDI-5 airbag inflator on the driver’s side. The part could rupture if the airbag is deployed during a collision. Honda has already started notifying the affected car owners and will send another notification when replacement parts are available for installation. A bigger recall of 8,510,000 vehicles, with side airbags for airbag inflator replacement, has been issued following the death of a driver due to airbag rupture in a Ford Ranger.
Continental Automotive Systems has also issued a recall for some 5,000,000 vehicles for issues with its airbag control units installed in affected vehicles. The affected vehicles come from various manufacturers such as Honda, Fiat-Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and certain Chrysler based Volkswagens. The listed manufacturers only represent 10% of the affected units. More recalls are to be announced by their respective automotive manufacturers in the coming days.
Toyota and Lexus also issued its own recall of faulty airbag control units affecting 320,000 vehicles. The airbags could deploy inadvertently due to faulty programming of the control units. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by their respective dealers for parts replacement.
A bizarre recall by Dodge gives owners wheel chocks for safety during tire changing. The company will give owners of 400,000 Dodge Chargers chocks to stabilise the vehicle when changing tires. The issue stems from injuries sustained by owners during tire change when the cars fell off their jacks. Dodge has notified affected owners about the issue and where to pick up their free tire chocks.
The spate of recalls will continue in the coming weeks due to ongoing investigations into how many vehicles in the country have faulty airbag inflators and control units. There have been 10 deaths that are attributed to faulty airbag deployment. The initial estimate is that the recall could reach 19,000,000 units in the United States alone.
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