Fiat Chrysler is taking responsibility and recalled some 900,000 vehicles all over the world due to chronic airbag problems.
According to NBC News, the giant car maker issued a recall on Friday for about 316,000 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee models. The first recall included almost 542,000 Dodge Journeys and Fiat Freemonts. Moisture build-up can occur in the anti-lock brake control module crippling the system and the electronic stability control.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that 284,089 vehicles of the models were recalled in the US alone. The car maker also plans to recall 13,411 vehicles in Canada, 6,277 in Mexico, and 48,212 beyond the NAFTA markets to fix the airbag problems as well as the anti-lock brake system problems. According to Fiat Chrysler, the SUVs were not divested by Takat Corp's airbags being the reason for vast recall connected to eight casualties and numerous injuries.
So far, Fiat Chrysler has already recalled about 1.8 million vehicles in the US alone because the vehicles have airbags that could deploy for no reason, according to The New York Times. The recalls are posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
Fiat Chrysler spokesperson Eric Mayne said the company knows about the seven injuries and one concussion caused by the malfunctioning airbags. According to the automaker, the faulty airbags deploy an "electrical noise" over stresses its electronic control module.
Mayne said the company worked to fix the vehicles as fast as they can. It recalled vehicles in the past for repair, but the company wasn't able to repair enough cars.
Those repairs caught the attention of federal regulators in May 2014. This lead the authorities to open an investigation on how the company's efforts to remedy the problem were not enough. Some of the vehicles still have their airbags opening without accidents.
Fiat Chrysler isn't the only automaker facing this issue. Most of the car companies that experienced the same problem got their airbags from TRW, which is a major supplier of this part. Toyota even recalled some 888,000 vehicles in 2013.
Fiat Chrysler first suspected the airbag problems in June 2014 as they noticed in the warranty claims. But it was not until August 2015 when they figured out the real cause of the problem. Federal regulators accused the car maker of not acting promptly on safety issues. The automaker agreed to pay $105 million as settlement for the recalls.
Join the Conversation