Volvo Car Corporation is recalling certain Volvo S60 and S80 vehicles in order to replace the driver’s airbag.
In a statement released on Monday, the company revealed that a total of 4,128 cars in South Africa are affected by the recall.
“The recall only affects S60 and S80 sedans from model year 2001 to 2003,” it stressed.
The latest recall follows a recent Volvo Cars investigation conducted in conjunction with the inflator manufacturer, ZF, which revealed an issue with the driver airbag. In the event of a collision in which the driver airbag is activated, the driver-side frontal airbag inflator may rupture, releasing metal fragments when the airbag is deployed.
The exact part involved in the recall is the FG2 Twin Driver Airbag inflator, which contains the 5AT 148N propellant. It will be replaced by a driver airbag with a modern state-of-the-art propellant/inflator.
One fatal incident involving a known rupture for this type of inflator has taken place around the world. Based on Volvo component testing, 1% of involved cars could be impacted.
“Despite this relatively low risk,” it stated, “Volvo Cars is replacing the driver airbag in all affected vehicles as soon as possible. Owners of S60 and S80 vehicles from model year 2001 to 2003 are encouraged to check if their cars are affected by the safety recall by visiting the Volvo website and entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) in the search box.
“Volvo owners can also contact their nearest dealer to find out if their cars are impacted.
“Because of the age of these vehicles, many of them are not active in Volvo’s retail network. Volvo Car South Africa will also, therefore, work through South Africa’s electronic national administration traffic information system (eNaTIS), with the help of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (naamsa) to send Quality Bulletin (QB) recall letters to current registered owners. South African Volvo car owners of the S60 and S80 (model 2001 to 2003) are advised to keep a lookout for the QB letter.”
In airbags, the propellant is compressed into aspirin-size tablets and placed in a metal tube called an inflator. If the propellant tablets in the Volvo S60 and S80 are subjected to elevated moisture levels and frequent high inflator temperatures, the tablets can start to decay and form dust particles. When exposed to high temperatures, moisture leaves the tablet. When it cools down, it is absorbed and accumulates on the tablets’ surface. This localization of moisture leads to volumetric changes of the tablets’ surface – creating dust over time. Dust increases the burn surface area and thereby the burn rate. A higher burn rate can result in higher combustion chamber pressure and the risk of inflator rupture.
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