During a crash test conducted for the federal government, the passenger air bag in a 2008 Infiniti EX35 failed to deploy, even though it was designed to deploy.  That test was conducted as part of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which is used to determine the “star” rating of a new vehicle.   Even though the vehicle was crashed into the barrier at 35 mph, the passenger air bag did not deploy to protect the passenger, but instead stayed hidden in its compartment.  Here is a photo of the passenger and dash area after the test:

2008 Infiniti EX35 post crash test photo with no airbag deployment

The footage of this air bag failure makes it clear that the passenger air bag does not deploy, and that the seat belt allowed the passenger’s head to apparently contact the dash.  According to the abstract of the crash test report, representatives of the manufacturer [Infiniti models are actually designed and/or made by Nissan] determined that there was a problem with the Airbag Control Unit in the vehicle which prevented deployment of the passenger air bag.  As a result of the failure of the air bag to deploy, the passenger’s Head Injury Criterion (HIC) was well above the threshold of 1,000.  Here is the abstract from the crash test report summarizing this information:

2008 Infiniti crash test report abstract

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling 531 model year 2010 Mitsubishi Endeavor model vehicles manufactured between May 26 and July 28, 2009. The retainer bracket used for the seat-mounted side airbag frames on both the driver and front passenger seats may not have been properly welded. If this condition exists, the front seat-mounted airbags may not deploy correctly in a side impact crash, possibly resulting in injury to the seat occupant. Mitsubishi will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the weld condition of the side airbag retainer bracket on the front passenger seats. If the weld is insufficient, the dealer will replace the seatback assembly free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about September 22, 2009. 09V-361.

This is yet another quality control problem: defects in a critical safety component escaped the assembly without being noticed.  This is exactly the kind of problem Mitsubishi should have anticipated in the seat assembly process, and should have implemented rigorous quality control measures to ensure seats with this defect were never shipped to customers.

Mitsubishi was notified about this issue by its seat supplier (Bloomington Seating Co.) on August 27, 2009.  Mitsubishi and its seat supplier then inspected vehicles in its possession prior to being shipped to a dealer, and found this defect existed in several of those vehicles.  On September 3, 2009, Mitsubishi issued a “stop sale” telling its dealers not to sell any 2010 Mitsubishi Endeavor vehicles until they had been inspected for this issue.  However, Mitsubishi did not formally notify the government until September 15, 2009 and consumer notification was expected to begin about one week after that.

Many consumers have contacted us and asked whether there was a way to report their airbag problem or defect to the government.  The good news is that there is a way to do that, and it’s relatively easy.  The federal agency that tracks these complaints is the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), specifically their Office of Defects Investigation (ODI).  Click here to go to the specific web page that allows you to file your complaint.

You can file your complaint using different methods, including over the phone, by mail, or over the internet.  Any method will work, but I always recommend submitting it over the internet.  This way, you don’t have to worry about some worker understanding what you are saying over the phone and then summarizing it in a way you did not intend.  Plus, when you submit it over the internet, it gets posted promptly, and you can verify it by checking the complaint file for your vehicle model.  NHTSA removes the personal identifying information to protect your privacy.

Although there is no guarantee that NHTSA will respond to your complaint, they do monitor them.  The more people that complain about a particular issue, the more likely it is to get their attention because that indicates the problem may be widespread rather than an isolated incident.  Do yourself and others a favor: if you have a complaint, file it.  You never know, you may be one of those whose complaint helped forced a car company to conduct a safety recall.  Of course, if an airbag problem caused you or a loved one to suffer serious injuries, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.