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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is looking into safety claims affecting both the Jeep Liberty and the Honda Odyssey.
• 2002 / 2003 Jeep Liberty
The NHTSA has received several complaints about spontaneous deployment of the airbag specifically in the 2002 and 2003 models of the Jeep Liberty SUV. There are approximately 385,000 vehicles that would be affected would the NHTSA decide to recall the model for the airbag issue. The investigation is based on complaints alleging that the airbag in the vehicle had deployed despite the fact that the SUV had not been involved in a collision. In five of the seven reported incidences, injuries were sustained.
Six of the seven incidences occurred while the vehicle was being driven, and involved either the driver’s side or both the driver’s side and passenger airbags having deployed while the vehicle was in motion. Half of the incidences occurring while the vehicle was in motion involved speeds over 45 miles per hour.
In most of the cases, the airbag light had been illuminated prior to the surprise deployment of the airbag.
• 2009 Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey investigation is limited to approximately 20,000 2009 models of the minivan. The complaints the NHTSA received involved the rear lift gate, which allegedly closed unexpectedly and caused injuries in at least two cases out of the seven reported incidences. Injuries were sustained as a result of a person being struck by the falling lift gate.
The lift gate malfunction has been reported in both the Odyssey Touring and EX-L. The NHTSA has noted that no problems have been reported in either the 2008 or 2010 Honda Odyssey. Spokespeople from Honda have announced an internal probe into the issue, along with cooperation with the NHTSA investigation.
Should either of these probes result in a recall, information will be available on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website at www.nhtsa.gov. Recall information for any make and model of vehicle are available on the NHTSA website, as well as general information about fuel efficiency, vehicle safety, driving safety, and recall information for child car seats.
