Another Takata airbag recall, this time centered on GM vehicles.
The automaker announced a campaign Wednesday covering some 6 million trucks and SUVs in the United States. The news comes after an earlier report in December, noting the NHTSA ordered the company to recall affected vehicles. These GM vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators pose the same risk as several other Takata-related recalls throughout the years. In the event of a crash, metal shrapnel can injure or kill the vehicle’s occupants. These inflators use an ammonium nitrate propellent that can degrade over time and exposure to humidity or drastic temperature swings.
The millions of vehicles cover much of GM’s truck and SUV range, including 2007 to 2014 models of the following vehicles:
- Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT
- Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado and Silverado HD
- Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe
- GMC Sierra and Sierra HD
- GMC Yukon and Yukon XL
In total, the GM recall campaign covers 5,953,594 vehicles with Takata inflators. The company will notify owners via mail in March. Beyond that, GM Authority reports the automaker will tell owners when parts are actually available to replace the old airbag assemblies. Technicians will perform the repairs free of charge.
To date, 26 people have died globally from faulty Takata airbag inflators, and several hundred have been injured. Facing overwhelming losses, the Takata Corporation folded in 2018 and was purchased by U.S.-based Key Safety Systems (now Joyson Safety Systems).
Owners can go to GM’s recall website and type in their VIN to see if their vehicle falls under this recall campaign.
