Land Rover SUV Recall Involves Airbag Defects

Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 40,555 Land Rover SUVs because of a defect in passenger side airbags, which may not deploy in the event of a crash. According to a Tech Times news report, the recall covers only vehicles in the United States. According to documents that Jaguar has filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Jaguar Land Rover is recalling 2010 to 2015 models of the LR2 and 2012-13 models of the Range Rover Evoque.

The company tells NHTSA that a component within the Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may fail, resulting in the front seat passenger airbag being totally or partially disabled. In the event of a crash necessitating airbag deployment, if the airbag is disabled, it may not deploy or deploy properly, thereby increasing the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.

 Expert Analysis of the Airbag Issue

This recall comes almost a month after NHTSA announced that it will launch an investigation into airbag defects in Chevy Impala vehicles. The agency responded to a petition from Xprts, a motor vehicle crash analysis company. Donald Friedman, who has served as our law firm’s expert on auto defect cases, filed the petition after inspecting a crash that caused the death of Roberto Martinez. The man was a passenger in a 2008 Chevy Impala when the car was hit by an SUV. Martinez’s airbag did not deploy causing him to suffer traumatic and fatal brain injuries.

Friedman explained in his petition that the weight sensor in the passenger seat failed to trigger the airbag because Martinez was bounced around in the vehicle during the crash. Airbags do not deploy when children are in the passenger seat. Friedman concluded that the injuries that caused Martinez’s death were due to the wrong readings from the weight sensor. Jaguar Land Rover will begin notifying owners about the recall later this month.

 Auto Product Liability Issues

When airbags fail to protect vehicle occupants by deploying during a crash, the consequences can be devastating as in Martinez’s case. Passengers are at risk for catastrophic or even fatal injuries. If you have been injured in a crash, it is crucial that the vehicle is preserved in its current condition unaltered so that an expert can examine it thoroughly for evidence of defects, malfunctions or design flaws. Victims in such cases need the support of a legal practice that has the resources and access to nationally renowned crash analysis experts who can analyze these dangerous defects and explain to a jury, the automaker’s role in failing to manufacture safe vehicles.