Volkswagen is recalling nearly 42,000 Beetles within the US and Canada because they’ve potentially dangerous Takata airbag inflators.
The recall covers 2015 and 2016 model yr Beetles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents released Friday that the inflators could explode with an excessive amount of force and throw shrapnel.
Takata used ammonium nitrate to cause a small explosion to inflate the airbags through the accident. However the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and moisture.
Since 2009, exploding airbags have killed not less than 33 people worldwide, including 24 in the USA.
Dealers will replace the driving force’s airbag in Beetles. Owners can be notified by post from February seventeenth.
Beetle airbags contain a moisture-absorbing chemical that may decelerate the destruction of ammonium nitrate. But VW and the US government have reached an agreement to phase them out in 2020.