Worrying that old-fashioned airbags may be fatal in the event of a collision, Volvo has recalled more than 460,000 vehicles worldwide. More than half of the vehicles involved in the recall plan are sold in the United States, but it does not involve Volvo’s current models, but rather Involving old cars with aging safety hardware.Volvo confirmed today that the company will recall a total of 460,769 cars. 259,383 vehicles including S60 and S80 sedans drove on American roads.
Volvo informed NHTSA: “Due to propellant degradation due to long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperature and high temperature cycles, the driver’s airbag gas generator may explode during deployment. The explosion of the gas generator may cause sharp metal fragments. Middle the driver or other occupants, causing serious injury or death.”
The affected vehicles are Volvo S60 from 2001-2009 and Volvo S80 from 2001-2006. The automaker confirmed that these vehicles were produced between May 2000 and March 2009.
“The dealer will replace the driver’s airbag for free,” Volvo said. “The notification letter of the car owner is expected to be sent on November 29, 2021. Car owners can contact Volvo Cars customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo’s recall number is R10125”.
Airbags rely on inflatable propellants to quickly deploy from the steering wheel, dashboard, or other parts of the car in the event of a collision. This propellant is usually in the form of flakes or granules; however, over time, varying degrees of moisture and/or temperature can cause degradation of the flakes. This causes the dust on the surface to increase the burning surface area, thereby accelerating the burning rate.
If this happens, the higher combustion speed will cause the combustion chamber pressure to rise. In turn, this will change the force of the explosion and may cause other components (such as gas generators) to form shrapnel and shoot at the occupants in the car. Volvo and the gas generator manufacturer ZF confirmed this discovery, and after the recall, the old gas generator will be replaced with a modern version.
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