The Stellantis Group is voluntarily recalling some 266,000 pickup trucks due to a problem with the side air bag inflators. During the manufacturing process, moisture may have entered the inflators.
This could cause them to rupture and cause debris to be ejected into the passenger compartment, even without a collision. This is reminiscent of the problem with Takata cushions.
The breakdown of affected models reads: 212,373 vehicles in the United States, 49,334 in Canada and 4,540 in Mexico. The supplier responsible for these airbags says it was aware of a rupture, but reports that it did not cause any injuries.
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Stellantis said it will let owners know when they can have their vehicle repaired for free. The operation consists of simply replacing the side cushion.
Affected models are from model years 2015 to 2020. These are the Ram 1500 Classic, as well as pickup and chassis cab versions of the Ram 2500 and 3500. The current generation of Ram pickups, released for the 2019 model year, is not affected.
Regarding the similarity to the problems with Takata cushions, it is interesting to note that the defective inflators come from Joyson Safety Systems, the company which bought the assets of Takata in 2018 when the latter went bankrupt. Since the transaction, Joyson has discovered a real Pandora's box there, including the falsification of data concerning tests carried out with seat belts.
The problematic element in Takata inflators has been identified as ammonium nitrate, a volatile compound designed to explode to inflate cushions in the event of an accident. This chemical reacts poorly to moisture. Stellantis has stated, however, that the units affected by this recall do not contain ammonium nitrate.