For the third time since October 2023, General Motors is recalling thousands of cars due to roof rail airbag inflators, also known as side curtain airbags, that may rupture unexpectedly. Should they rupture, it could send shrapnel flying into the cabin or outside of the vehicle, and obviously, would startle anyone driving the car. Both of these things would present a significant problem.

In 2023, General Motors issued two separate recalls due to this issue. Both were for more than 30,000 2014 Chevrolet Cruze and 2014 Buick Verano vehicles. Now, NHTSA recall 25V-764 adds another 2,099 vehicles for the same makes, models, and years. This recall affects Cruze and Verano cars produced from March 24, 2014 to April 12, 2014. Autoliv Steering Wheels Mexico is listed as the supplier of the faulty airbag modules.

The defective airbags could ‘potentially cause injury’

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the “inflator chamber in these airbags may have contamination … that may lead to corrosion that, over time, may result in intergranular cracking near the weld joint.”

Should this inflator rupture, it could limit the airbag’s inflation in a crash. Also, “one or more sections of the inflator may enter or exit the vehicle” and “potentially cause injury.”

In 2023, General Motors stated that it was aware of three inflators that had ruptured in unoccupied vehicles in Texas. No injuries were reported in those instances.

Owners of these vehicles should receive a notice sometime around Christmas. They can then visit a dealership, where the roof-rail airbag modules will be replaced at no charge. Owners of 2014 Chevy Cruze or 2014 Buick Verano cars may also check the NHTSA recall page to see if their vehicle is listed.