(March 25, 2024) Stellantis's Chrysler and Dodge brands are recalling nearly 285,000 U.S vehicles over a manufacturing defect that might cause the side curtain airbag inflators to rupture, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday. The recall covers certain 2018-21 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans. About 10,285 vehicles are affected in Canada, 3,502 in Mexico and nearly 19,000 in markets outside of North America.

The right and left side curtain airbag inflators may rupture in sharp metal fragments striking occupants, resulting in injury or death, the U.S. auto safety regulator said.

“A routine review of customer feedback led to a company investigation that discovered certain vehicles may have been equipped with SABIC inflators that had moisture introduced during supplier manufacturing. This may lead to stress corrosion and potential rupture,” Stellantis said in a statement Friday.

“These inflators do not use the same propellant or inflator design as previously recalled Takata airbags,” the automaker said.

Stellantis said it was not aware of any related injuries or crashes. Of five incidents investigated by the automaker, “all occurred when the vehicle’s interior temperature exceeded 120 F.”

To fix the issue, the inflator will be replaced with one outside of the suspect period.

Source: Automotive News