Air Bags

It's all crossovers these days. From the polo grounds of Malibu to the campgrounds of Maine, nearly a fifth of all vehicles sold in the U.S. last year resided somewhere in this netherworld between a car and an SUV. So the stakes were high for Toyota's overdue redesign of the RAV4, a pioneer of the segment in the mid-1990s that had grown stale in comparison with competitors. Often resembling small sport utility vehicles, crossovers are truck-like vehicles built on front-drive car platforms.

For at least a decade, the owners of more than 3 million cars from six automakers drove around with air bags that could shoot shrapnel around the cabin in a crash. The problem went undetected by the world's biggest automakers and safety regulators on two continents until at least 2011, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now those cars are being recalled. "This clearly should have been caught earlier," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

Federal safety regulators are warning that counterfeit air bags are being installed by auto repair shops that might not deploy in an accident or alternately, could explode, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle's passenger cabin. “We want consumers to be immediately aware of this problem and to review our safety information to see if their vehicle could be in need of inspection,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The fake air bags look nearly identical to certified, original-equipment parts, right down to bearing the insignia and branding of major automakers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler is recalling some model year 2003 and 2004 Dodge Viper sports cars because of an air bag defect that may cause them to deploy unexpectedly while driving. The Dodge Vipers were manufactured from Nov. 1, 2001, through June 30, 2004. The recall involves more than 3,600 cars. Chrysler says that a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags to deploy inadvertently while the car is being driven. The same problem may also activate the car's seat belt pretensioners.

Recently we have heard government officials testify that air bags save many more people than they kill. I've not heard, however, an answer to the following question. Do air bags indeed save more people who are also belted with lap and shoulder harnesses? Most of what seems to have been said concerns saving unbelted drivers and passengers. If indeed air bags are not saving people who are adequately belted, then should we not stress education about seat belts instead of creating expensive "smart" air bags?

Chrysler Group is recalling about 750,000 Jeep sport utility vehicles in the U.S. because the air bags can inflate without warning. The recall includes model year 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles and 2002 through 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. The recall includes an additional 170,000 of the vehicles globally. Chrysler said a component in the air bag control module can fail and cause the front air bags, side curtain air bags and seatbelt pretensioners to deploy while the vehicle is being operated.

For at least a decade, the owners of more than 3 million cars from six automakers drove around with air bags that could shoot shrapnel around the cabin in a crash. The problem went undetected by the world's biggest automakers and safety regulators on two continents until at least 2011, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now those cars are being recalled. "This clearly should have been caught earlier," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

Chrysler is recalling some model year 2003 and 2004 Dodge Viper sports cars because of an air bag defect that may cause them to deploy unexpectedly while driving. The Dodge Vipers were manufactured from Nov. 1, 2001, through June 30, 2004. The recall involves more than 3,600 cars. Chrysler says that a component in the air bag control module may fail, causing the front air bags to deploy inadvertently while the car is being driven. The same problem may also activate the car's seat belt pretensioners.

One important fact was missing in your Jan. 8 articles on air bags ("Green Light for Air Bags" and "Accidental Air Bag Inflation Unlikely"). Once the bags have been activated, they cannot be reused. They must be replaced at a cost of about $150 each, plus installation, and it is unsafe to drive the car until the bags are replaced. DAVID WALKER Laguna Hills

What if the black box in your new car becomes a tool to invade your privacy? What if, on the other hand, it winds up saving your life after an accident? Those are some of the questions being raised this week over black box data event recorders in cars. Privacy advocates worried on Thursday that the data could be misused. Safety advocates argued on Friday that a watered-down version of the recorders would slow safety innovations. In the former camp is the Electronic Frontier Foundation and this scenario: The friend you loaned your BMW to decides to create his own ultimate driving experience, and your insurance rises because of his 120 mph freeway jaunt.

Chrysler Group is recalling about 750,000 Jeep sport utility vehicles in the U.S. because the air bags can inflate without warning. The recall includes model year 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty vehicles and 2002 through 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees. The recall includes an additional 170,000 of the vehicles globally. Chrysler said a component in the air bag control module can fail and cause the front air bags, side curtain air bags and seatbelt pretensioners to deploy while the vehicle is being operated.

Federal safety regulators are warning that counterfeit air bags are being installed by auto repair shops that might not deploy in an accident or alternately, could explode, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle's passenger cabin. “We want consumers to be immediately aware of this problem and to review our safety information to see if their vehicle could be in need of inspection,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The fake air bags look nearly identical to certified, original-equipment parts, right down to bearing the insignia and branding of major automakers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Coda Automotive Inc. started selling its $37,250 electric car in March, but it has been silent about its sales. The Los Angeles start-up appears to have delivered 78 vehicles at most, according to a recall notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Coda must fix side curtain air bags that were not installed properly and might not deploy in an accident. Electric car sales overall are far from brisk, but other companies seem to be doing better. Tesla Motors Inc., a start-up in Palo Alto, has delivered about the same number of its $100,000 electric Model S luxury cars in a shorter period of time.

"The Avengers," as you may have heard, is the biggest thing to happen to America since World War II but, you know, louder and more troubling. At the end of the matinee I witnessed, audience members actually cheered, believing what they'd just seen was some sort of documentary. Manhattan had been saved, which is almost always a cause for celebration, though I met this one New Yorker the other day at the rent-a-car place: swaggery young Italian guy, you know the type. The New Yorker said he didn't like L.A. because "ders nuttin' to do hair," which translates roughly into "there is nothing to do here.

The gig: Rosemary Shahan is the founder and president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS). The Sacramento organization has been the driver of some of the most important advances in auto-related safety and financial protection regulation on the books today. Shahan, 62, championed the nation's first lemon law in California, which has since been copied in every state. She was a major force behind the federal air bag mandate and laws protecting military service members from abusive car loans.

Sometimes you just gotta wonder. Federal regulators have been calling on the auto industry for years to help reduce accidents by installing rearview cameras on vehicles. Yet an official rule requiring such technology on new cars and trucks keeps getting postponed. In January, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress he expected his department to issue the requirement by Feb. 29. Now he says it probably won't come until the end of the year. "Further study and data analysis -- including of a wider range of vehicles and drivers -- is important to ensure the most protective and efficient rule possible," LaHood said.

Kia Motors America will recall almost 150,000 older Optima sedans and Rondo crossover vehicles because of a defect that could prevent the driver's side air bag from deploying in a collision, the company said. The South Korean automaker said the recall covers 2006 to 2008 Optimas and Rondos from the 2007 and 2008 model years. The company no longer sells the Rondo. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the clock-spring assembly used in the air-bag system can become damaged over time and prevent the air bag from deploying.