Thousands Of Cadillacs Have Airbags That Can Spew Metal Shrapnel

General Motors has issued two serious airbag-related recalls that impact 6,910 vehicles. They’re worth paying attention to as the government warns they can cause “serious injury or death.”

The most serious recall involves 4,125 driver airbag inflators that can rupture and spew sharp metal fragments. In effect, it’s less of an airbag and more of a claymore mine.

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That’s a deadly combination and the recall impacts the 2015 Cadillac Escalade / Escalade ESV and XTS as well as the 2015-2016 ATS, CTS, and SRX. The airbag modules were made by ARC Automotive, which you may remember from a similar Hyundai recall.

The issue is being blamed on a “supplier manufacturing defect that may result in inflator rupture during deployment.” As the government explained, the inflators used propellant from two lots that may contain speckled low density propellant. It “increases the likelihood of a high-pressure deployment that can lead to an inflator rupture.”

A GM investigator discovered the issue following analysis of propellant from D5 airbag inflators collected in the field. This was done after the company found speckled low density propellant inside MC inflators, which sparked a previous recall.

GM was aware of one field rupture and one test rupture associated with MC inflators, but none with D5 inflators. However, GM recovered and dissected five D5 inflators and found one had a “high occurrence” of speckled low density propellant.

To address the risk, GM will replace the driver airbag with one that doesn’t use the propellant in question. There’s no fix at the moment, but an interim letter will go out in July and a remedy notification will follow, when available.

Another Airbag Recall

The second recall involves 2,785 trucks including the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 as well as the 2019 Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Sierra 2500, and Sierra 3500. They have roof rail airbag inflators with end caps that might detach or sidewalls that may rupture. If this happens, compressed gas will escape from the inflator and components could be “propelled into the vehicle,” potentially causing injury.

These were made by Joyson Safety Systems and the recall was sparked by a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado, which “experienced a potential rupture of the right side roof rail airbag” while parked and unoccupied.

The latest recall expands on a previous campaign involving 2,819 vehicles. GM isn’t entirely sure what is causing the problem, but believes the root cause is related to two manufacturing defects. The first involves a small crack in the inflator canister introduced during manufacturing, while the second is a “small amount of water inadvertently being left in the canister after the washing process.” The latter allows for corrosion and weakening of the pressurized canister over time.

As part of the recall, dealers will replace both roof rail airbag modules. Owners can expect to receive notifications starting in early July.