The National Highway Traffic Administration issued a recall for 15,835 2017-2020 model year Fiat/Abarth 124 Spiders because the airbags could deploy with “excessive force.” Specifically, the Bosch airbag control module can command a dual-stage front airbag deployment instead of the intended single-stage deployment in low-speed accidents.
Single-stage airbag deployment usually uses about 70 percent of the airbag’s deployment strength potential, but a dual-stage airbag deployment simultaneously fires an additional inflator that covers the remaining 30 percent of the airbag’s deployment strength potential. Lower-speed impacts should only trigger single-stage airbag deployment, but NHTSA’s recall states that the Fiata’s airbag control module may trigger dual-stage airbag deployment unnecessarily in low-speed impacts.
In the United States, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require certain performance related to neck injury criteria during 16-mph frontal impact testing. The Fiat 124’s unnecessarily intense dual-stage airbag deployment can increase the risk of neck injuries in low speed crashes. Read the NHTSA recall here.
Mazda assembled all Fiat 124 Spiders, and first informed Stellantis of the potential airbag control module fault in July of this year. Mazda conducted a voluntary safety recall on September 11; the recall is not actually related to a part defect, but a design issue where accelerometer voltage specifications were incorrectly set. The remedy involves a reprogramming of the airbag control module, and FCA US will notify dealers today, with owners receiving notification of the recall in early November. Jalopnik reached out to a Mazda representative to determine if any Miatas face the same issue and have not received a response at the time of publishing, but we will update the story with any answers we receive. To see if your vehicle is currently facing any recalls, click here to visit the NHTSA VIN lookup tool.
