Volvo Recalls Older Cars; Air Bag Inflators Can Explode | November 2021

The recall is in addition to one from November 2020, which was done after an unidentified U.S. driver was killed.

The latest recall covers S80 sedans from 2001 to 2006 and S60s from 2001 through 2009.

The problem is similar to widespread trouble with airbag inflators made by bankrupt Japanese airbag maker Takata. The company used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the airbags. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high heat and humidity and burn too fast, blowing apart a metal canister.

At least 19 people in the U.S. and 28 worldwide have been killed by exploding Takata inflators. More than 400 have been injured in the U.S.

The Volvo inflators, made by ZF/TRW, do not use ammonium nitrate, but the propellant can still deteriorate when exposed to high heat and humidity, according to documents posted Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Volvo said in the documents that the fatality is the only inflator rupture case that it knows of.

Tony Sapienza, the spokesman for ZF/TRW, said the inflators were not sold to any other automakers in the U.S. The company's U.S. headquarters is in Livonia, Michigan, near Detroit.

Dealers will replace the inflators with new ones “with a modern state-of-the-art propellant/inflator,” the Volvo documents say. Owners will be notified by letter starting November 29.

The original recall only covered cars from the 2001 through 2003 model years in southern states and territories with persistent high heat and humidity.

Volvo said in a recent statement that it expanded the recall from Southern states to the entire nation in an abundance of caution.

Discussion Questions

1. What is a recall? Who can initiate a recall?
   
   A product recall is just that—It is a situation where the manufacturer and/or the retailer requests that the product be returned by whoever is in possession of it—consumers, businesses, etc.
   
   Numerous parties can initiate a product recall: Government agencies, including the Food & Drug Administration, the National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); the United States Attorney General and state attorneys general; manufacturers; and retailers.
2. Is a recall an admission of liability for product defect(s) and resulting physical and/or economic consumer harm?
   
   Quite clearly, a product recall is not an admission of liability for product defect (s) and resulting physical and/or economic harm. In establishing this rule, the federal and state governments seek to encourage manufacturers and/or retailers to vigorously engage in a product recall if there is credible evidence that a product is defective. If the rule were otherwise, manufacturers and/or retailers may not be so willing to initiate a recall.
3. As the article indicates, the Volvo airbag inflators are made by ZF/TRW. In the event of consumer harm, should not ZF/TRW be the responsible party rather than Volvo? Explain your response.
   
   In answering this question, another question presents—namely, should only manufacturers be responsible for product defects and resulting harm since they created the defect, or are there circumstances where retailers should be held responsible as well? The short answer is that retailers can be held responsible, particularly in situations where they were aware (or based on the facts, should have been aware) of the defect and the resulting harm, but did little or nothing to prevent others from being harmed. This is obviously a fact-specific determination and will have to be made based on the unique facts and circumstances of the individual case. Plaintiffs’ attorneys typically include both the manufacturer and the retailer as defendants in a product liability lawsuit and then rely on the judge and the jury to determine whether one or both defendants should be held liable.