On Feb. 4, Continental Automotive Services said it may have supplied faulty air bag control units that were placed in up to 5 million vehicles sold worldwide, and some of them could have been in cars owned by Minnesota residents. The units were used by Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and three other automakers.
Continental Automotive notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that electronic control units built by the company between 2006 and 2010 could cause air bags to fail to deploy on impact or to suddenly deploy under normal driving conditions. A spokesperson for the company said that the faulty units were used in up to 2 million vehicles in the U.S. As a result, Honda is recalling 341,000 Accord sedans manufactured between 2008 and 2010, and Fiat Chrysler is recalling 112,000 U.S. vehicles, including the 2009 Dodge Journey, the 2008 – 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country and the 2009 Volkswagen Routan.
Honda said it has received reports of two confirmed injuries linked to the faulty air bag units, and it knows of another 74 unconfirmed injury allegations. Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler said it has received reports of up to 25 incidents of air bag malfunctions.
People who have been injured due to a defective auto part may want to speak with a personal injury attorney about their legal options. One available remedy could be the filing of an auto product liability lawsuit that names the manufacturer as a defendant and which seeks compensation for medical expenses, lost wages due to an inability to work and other losses that have been incurred.
Source: Reuters, “Continental says five million vehicles worldwide may have faulty air bags,” David Shepardson and Bernie Woodall, Feb. 5, 2016