General Motors recalls 50,000 Cadillac SRX to fix passenger air bags

11 Jun 2011

General Motors (GM) is recalling more than 50,000 2011 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles in North America because of a problem with the right side passenger air bags.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the right-side head protection air bag does not inflate during a crash in the absence of a passenger in the front seat.

The right side-curtain airbag is programmed to turn off if the passenger-sensing system detects the front passenger seat is unoccupied and as a result, a backseat passenger may not be fully protected and could get hurt, said the NHTSA.

The Michigan-based automaker said it knew of no crashes, injuries or complaints related to the issue.

The recall affects 47,400 SRXs sold in the US and about 3,100 in Canada and Mexico. GM expects the recall to begin from 17 June and dealers will reprogram the sensing and diagnostic module for free.

GM said that the problem is only localised to North America as export models use a manual key to disable the passenger side airbag.