Federal investigators are looking into a 2012 recall to fix airbag issues in over 700,000 sport utility vehicles following consumer claims of inadvertent airbag deployments in several vehicles said to be already fixed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in documents filed on June 2 that it had opened a query into a 2012 recall for 744,822 Jeep Liberty SUVs from model years 2002 and 2003, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs from model years 2002 through 2004.
The agency will evaluate the effectiveness of the nearly-two-year-old recall, which Chrysler initiated after discovering the air bag squib filter circuitry inside the vehicle’s Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) module is susceptible to degradation. ORC degradation can result in an inadvertent air bag deployment (IABD) while the vehicle is in operation, potentially leading to injuries such as burns, cuts and bruises.
To remedy the issue, Chrysler installed an in-line jumper harness with an integrated electrical filter for the circuits that connect to the air bag modules (squib circuits). The filter is designed to eliminate transient electrical spikes to the ORC, which Chrysler believed were responsible for the IABD.
Chrysler said in a statement to the agency that it is aware of six vehicles that have experienced an IABD after the recall was conducted and the remedy filters had been installed. No crashes were reported; however, injuries consisting of cuts and burns were alleged.
