Mitsubishi says the safety restraint computer can interpret road vibrations or a flat tire as a sensor error and disable the vehicles’ 7 airbags. If this occurs, drivers will see a warning light indicator on the dashboard.
The recall, which began at the end of November, affects certain Mirage vehicles from model years 2014 through 2018.
To be clear, this airbag recall has nothing to do with the never-ending Takata airbag saga, which has been linked to at least 16 deaths and nearly 200 injuries worldwide.
The recalled Takata airbags contain ammonium nitrate, a highly-explosive chemical that inflates the airbag, which can explode with excessive force — even in response to minor collisions — ejecting metal shrapnel at high speed inside the cabin.
But again, this recall has nothing to do with that. The problem with the Mitsubishi airbags is that they might not deploy in the event of a crash, not that they could blow up in your face without warning.
Mitsubishi said in documents published on Nov. 17 that dealers will reprogram the computer at no cost to owners. It is unclear whether the problem has been linked to any injuries or other incidents.
Source: J.D. Power