(New York) Automakers Stellantis and BMW warned Wednesday of recalls of several hundred thousand vehicles in the United States over separate airbag problems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
In the case of Stellantis, “a sensor in a seat belt buckle may have been incorrectly connected, preventing the front seat airbag from deploying as intended” during a crash, the agency said, adding that dealers will make the necessary repair free of charge.
The recall, which affects exactly 332,000 vehicles, concerns the Alfa Romeo Giulia (models 2017-2024) and Stelvio (2018-2025), Fiat 500e (2024) and 500X (2019-2023) and Jeep Renegade (2019-2023).
It is this latter model which represents the largest number of vehicles likely to be affected (209,002), ahead of the two Alfa Romeos.
Stellantis, born from the merger in January 2021 of French manufacturers Peugeot-Citroën (PSA) and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler (FCA), specified that the problem came from a wiring connector which could be defective.
“Drivers may notice that their airbag warning light remains on after starting the vehicle or that the seat belt warning sound remains activated even when the seat belt is fastened,” the group detailed in a statement sent to AFP.
He added that nearly 8,400 vehicles in Canada and more than 760 in Mexico would also be recalled.
In a document sent to the NHTSA, FCA – a subsidiary of Stellantis in the United States – explained that the solution required the installation of a part that does not currently exist.
Therefore, owners of vehicles with the defect should only be able to have them repaired from the third quarter.
On the German manufacturer’s side, 394,029 vehicles are the subject of a recall in the United States because the airbag inflation device located in certain steering wheel models risks exploding and projecting “sharp metal fragments towards the driver or passengers,” explains the NHTSA.
These are airbags from the Japanese company Takata. Millions of cars of many brands (Mazda, Ford, Honda, BMW) have been subject to waves of recall since 2014 for a change of airbags from this supplier, which has since gone bankrupt.
Necessary repairs will be carried out free of charge.
Ten versions of the BMW 3 Series, produced between 2006 and 2012, are affected.