Home PageBlog3 Injuries, 1 Death in GM Airbag/Seat Belt Recall
3 Injuries, 1 Death in GM Airbag/Seat Belt Recall
September 9th, 2016 by thomasjhenry
General Motors (GM) is recalling nearly 4.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a software defect that can, in rare instances, prevent the airbags and seat belts from functioning during a crash.
About the GM Vehicle Recall
According to the Wall Street Journal, a sensing diagnostic module in the recalled vehicles can improperly activate a test under certain circumstances. Under these rare circumstances, the vehicle’s safety devices, including the airbags and seat belt pretensioners, are prevented from activating if involved in a crash.
GM says dealers will repair or replace the faulty software on owners’ vehicles for free.
There have been three injuries and one death associated with the software defect.
Description of the Recalled GM Vehicles
The vehicle recall involves several car, SUV and truck models, including:
2014 – 2016 Buick LaCrosse
2014 – 2016 Chevrolet SS
2014 – 2016 Spark EV
2014 – 2017 Chevrolet Corvette
2014 – 2017 Chevrolet Trax
2014 – 2017 Chevrolet Caprice PPV
2014 – 2017 Silverado 1500
2014 – 2017 Buick Encore
2014 – 2017 GMC Sierra 1500
2015 – 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe
2015 – 2017 Chevrolet Suburban
2015 – 2017 Chevrolet Silverado HD
2015 – 2017 GMC Yukon
2015 – 2017 Yukon XL
2015 – 2017 Sierra HD
2015 – 2017 Cadillac Escalade
2015 – 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV
Airbag Nondeployment Statistics
The Fatality Analysis Reporting Systems reports that airbags failed to deploy in 18 percent of fatal frontal collisions reported between 1998 and 2006.
The National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) noted that non deployment occurred less in first generation airbags than in sled-certified airbags, 7 percent versus 11 percent respectively.
About 2 percent of airbag non-deployment in fatal frontal collisions represented potential system failures.