Chrysler expands air bag recall
Source: AP-Excite
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is bowing to demands from U.S. safety regulators and will add about 179,000 vehicles to a recall for air bags that could explode with too much force.
The latest expansion covers the Ram pickup from the 2003 to 2005 model years, as well as the 2004 and 2005 Dodge Durango, 2005 Chrysler 300 and 2005 Dodge Magnum. It brings Chrysler into compliance with demands from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for passenger air bags. It's part of a growing problem worldwide with air bag inflators made by Japanese auto parts supplier Takata Corp.
At first Chrysler agreed to replace passenger air bag inflators in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But under pressure from NHTSA, the company late Thursday added more states with high humidity. The new boundaries are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and five U.S. territories.
The air bags can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel into the passenger compartment. Takata has said that long exposure to airborne humidity can cause the air bag propellant to burn too quickly. That can blow apart inflator canisters and spew plastic and metal parts into the passenger compartment.
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