During our investigation, we examined more than 160 complaints from consumers about their airbags failing to deploy in serious accidents. Those complaints involved the airbags in vehicles made by eight different automakers. We contacted each of those car makers and asked them to respond to the following questions.
Max Gates, with the safety and regulatory communications division for DaimlerChrysler Corporation, responded for the company.
1). What's your message to consumers who have safety concerns with the airbags in one of your vehicles?
Gates: Consumers who have a concern with any vehicle safety system, including the airbags, should take their vehicle to a DaimlerChrysler dealership for inspection.
2). What should customers do if their airbags fail to deploy during an accident in one of your vehicles?
Gates: Air bag systems are designed to deploy based on the severity of the impact. If a consumer believes their airbag should have deployed during an impact, they should go to a DaimlerChrysler dealership or contact DaimlerChrysler's Customer Assistance Center.
3). Does your company send someone to investigate an accident if an airbag fails to deploy in one of your vehicles?
Gates: The decision whether or not to have an engineering evaluation of a vehicle is made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific incident. Typically, our engineers inspect the vehicle to assess damage, determine the status of safety equipment, such as airbags, and, when appropriate, access onboard computer records about the pre-crash status of the vehicle. The information gained by such an inspection is the property of DaimlerChrysler.
4). Has your company recalled any vehicles because of problems with the airbags failing to deploy in an accident? If so, which vehicles -- year, make, model?
Gates: We have conducted four safety recalls in the past 10 years to address issues that could result in airbag non-deployment. These four recalls involved a total of about 2,100 vehicles:
• Install passenger airbag wiring harness, 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee - 27 vehicles;
• Replace passenger airbag module, 2000 Dodge Neon - 450 vehicles;
• Replace airbag clockspring, 1997 Jeep Wrangler - about 1,600 vehicles;
• Replace passenger airbag, 1998 Chrysler Concordes and Dodge Intrepids - about 50 vehicles.
