Stellantis is recalling some 285,000 cars, as communicated by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the equivalent of Transport Canada.
The recall targets 217,802 Dodge Chargers and 67,180 Chrysler 300s, both of the 2018-2021 model-years. The problem stems from a potentially faulty side airbag inflation.
In Canada, 10,285 vehicles are affected by the campaign.
In the recall document submitted to the NHTSA, Stellantis states that “suspect inflators” were used between July 2018 and May 2021, at which point the automaker stopped using them. The company says its analysis of the problem shows that the affected vehicles (around 1 percent of the recalled cars) “may have had moisture introduced into the inflator during supplier manufacturing that may cause internal corrosion over time and potentially leading to Stress Corrosion Cracking in the inflator.”
Where this is really problematic is that the glitch can lead to the airbag rupturing, or even to metal fragments being projected into the passenger compartment, potentially causing injury.
We saw just how tragic this kind of situation can be with the Takata airbag saga, responsible for over 30 fatalities worldwide.
Stellantis says that as of February 2024, it was aware of two warranty claims and five customer support cases related to this issue, but that no injuries had been reported.
The recalled vehicles will have both side airbags replaced with new units, this time using inflators manufactured outside the period affected by the recall, again according to documents released by NHTSA.
Owners will be informed of the procedure to follow starting May 3rd.