General Motors, which recently recalled over 2.6 million vehicles for faulty ignition switches, might also have to deal with defect airbags found in its 2003 through 2010 Chevrolet Impalas.
The Center for Auto Safety said in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the algorithm, which decides when an airbag deploys in the event of an accident, may turn off the air bag if a passenger is bounced in his or her seat right before an accident, according to Reuters.
A "bouncing motion," even if a person is strapped in, could reduce the weight registered by the seat sensor to the air bag algorithm, despite the fact that airbags are not supposed to deploy when an occupant's weight is under a certain amount.
"We call on NHTSA to examine each of the fatal non-deployment crashes to determine whether the air bag should have deployed and why it didn't," Clarence Ditlow, the center's executive director, said in the letter, according to Reuters.
There have been 143 fatalities in front-impact crashes in 2000-2010 Impala vehicles which air bags did not deploy, according to the center.
Of the 143 fatalities, at least 98 of them were wearing seat belts.
A NHTSA probe could result in a recall eventually, though nothing has been decided yet.
"We will, of course, cooperate with NHTSA if it determines any further action is needed regarding this petition," GM spokesman Greg Martin said, according to Reuters.
The NHTSA said in a statement that it "has received and is evaluating a petition about possible defects," in the aforementioned Impalas.
The air bag algorithm recently became a part of a now controversial recall of 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other GM vehicles for a defective ignition switch that could turn off the car's engine.
Thirteen deaths have been linked to the massive recall involving the faulty part.
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