As many as 320,000 Chevrolet Impalas produced from 2004-2010 will be investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for an airbag-related software glitch, according to reports. The glitch was brought to the attention of the NHTSA by Xprts, “a Santa Barbara, Calif., company that specializes in automotive crash analysis.”
The company filed a petition to the NHTSA in response to a crash in Texas involving a 2008 Impala. In the accident, the Impala’s “software failed to properly detect the weight of the car’s two elderly occupants,” resulting in only the driver’s front airbag deploying and providing protection. The passenger’s air bag did not deploy. AN notes that the petition “claims that GM has used the same algorithm since 2003, and that 2004-10 vehicles might be similarly defective.”
According to Xprts LLC’s David Friedman, the NHTSA’s own data supports his company’s claims. GM Spokesman Alan Adler told The Detroit News that the automaker will work with the NHTSA as it requests information on the matter.
No Comments yet