Pennsylvania residents may be interested to know that the car manufacturer Subaru has come under investigation by federal safety regulators following consumer complaints that its Subaru Impreza model may potentially suffer from a serious defective auto part.
The auto defects impact air bags that protect the front passenger seat causing them to fail to deploy in the event of an impact. However, safety regulators do not believe that all Subaru Imprezas are affected, just the 2012 model. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after conducting an investigation that covered well over 33,000 automobiles, 26 car owners indicated that their front passenger seat airbags had failed to deploy. Reports indicate that the defect appears to affect the passenger detection system which fails to detect that there is an occupant in the front passenger seat and thus prevents the airbag from deploying.
The NHTSA also uncovered documents that indicate that the manufacturer was aware of the problem and had issued a technical service bulletin in mid-2012 in which it delineated possible causes that may contribute to the airbag incorrectly failing to deploy even though the seat is occupied by a passenger.
According to officials at the federal safety agency, a preliminary evaluation has been launched. The purpose of the preliminary evaluation is to determine the scope and frequency of the problem as well as to pin down if there is a connection between the defect and the technical service bulletin that was issued by the manufacturer.
Defective airbags are one example of an auto defect which could potentially result in serious consumer injury. Auto defects fall under the umbrella of product liability, and those interested in learning more about the laws surrounding product liability or would like to have the facts on one’s case evaluated for legal sufficiency can contact a Philadelphia personal injury law firm for more information.
Source: Business Insider, “U.S. safety regulators probe Subaru cars’ air bags,” April 14, 2015