It’s déjà vu for airbag recalls

It looks like the first round of recalls for more than 2 million vehicles were insufficient to fix a malfunction that may cause the seatbelts to tighten and the inadvertent deployment of the airbags.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the recall this past weekend because the manufacturers' original remedies were inadequate to correct the problem.

“Keeping the traveling public safe is our number one priority, and we expect the manufacturers to get this remedy right to prevent injury to drivers and their families,” said Foxx.

The 2.12 million vehicles involved in the recall include vehicles made in the early 2000s:

• 2003 Acura MDX
• 2003-2004 Dodge Viper
• 2002-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee
• 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty
• 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey
• 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe
• 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla
• 2003-2004 Toyota Matrix
• 2003-2004 Toyota Avalon

A review of data submitted by consumers and automakers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that vehicles repaired for the previous recall “may have experienced inadvertent deployments,” and the NHTSA has identified 40 vehicles where the “airbags deployed unexpectedly” or without being involved in a crash after they had been repaired.

There is a concern that some of these vehicles may still have the defective Takata airbags, which were the subject of a major recall last year. Because of these factors, the NHTSA is urging owners to take their vehicles to their local dealers to have the airbags checked, since the airbags could deploy with enough force to injure or kill vehicle occupants.

“This is unfortunately a complicated issue for consumers, who may have to return to their dealer more than once,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind in a statement Saturday. “But this is an urgent safety issue, and all consumers with vehicles covered by the previous recalls should have that remedy installed. Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, they and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions. A hassle is much better than a family tragedy.”

The NHTSA is asking for additional information from the manufacturer involved, TRW, to see if other models might be affected and working with automakers to see how quickly they can devise a remedy for the problem.

Consumers can visit NHTSA's SaferCar.gov website to see whether or not their vehicle is affected by the recall.