Automakers To Recall Over 5 Million Vehicles Worldwide Over Faulty Air Bag

Continental Automotive, a division of the German Continental AG, has said it supplied potentially defective air bag control units to five million vehicles used by Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and three other manufacturers built over a five-year period worldwide.

Revealing this information to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the brakes and electronics supply company said electronic systems built from 2006 through 2010 and used in 5 million vehicles may fail and air bags may not deploy in a crash or may inadvertently deploy without warning.

Already Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Mercedes have issued recalls, and some unidentified Kia, Mazda and Volvo Truck vehicles are included.

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In the documents, Continental says its problem first surfaced in January of 2008 when it analyzed a malfunctioning control unit that was removed from a Mercedes. The company continued to investigate, and in early 2011, Continental was told of two inadvertent air bag deployments in Mercedes and Fiat Chrysler vehicles.

The Company said the company is working closely with affected car makers and providing them with relevant information, adding that each auto maker will determine whether a defect exists in their respective vehicles.

Fiat Chrysler on Thursday said it was recalling about 112,000 older crossovers and minivans in the U.S. Honda, meanwhile, said late Wednesday it would recall roughly 341,000 2008-2010 Accord sedans in the U.S. to address the problem.

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