Continental in massive air bag recall
February 4, 2016
Yet another problem has emerged with air bag systems in cars - this one reported to result in recalls of 5 million vehicles in the US.
Continental Automotive Systems said in documents made public Thursday that moisture could get inside some air bag control computers, causing the power supplies to corrode and fail. In such a case, air bags may not inflate in a crash, or they could deploy without a crash, the documents revealed.
The unit of Germany-based Continental told the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the potential defects, pointing to electronic systems built from 2006 through 2010 and used in cars made by a variety of auto makers.
Car industry image at stake
The documents said Continental would notify the carmakers concerned. Honda, Fiat Chrysler and Mercedes had already issued recalls.
Carmakers are to replace the faulty computers at no cost to owners.
Continental's announcement came in the middle of a recall crisis involving Japan's Takata air bag inflators, deemed responsible for many casualties in the past.
About 24 million US vehicles are being called back to garages to fix that problem, marking the largest automotive recall in the United States' history.
hg/sri (Reuters, AP)