Air bags save an estimated 2,788 lives annually according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Administration. The good and bad news is that air bags are much more complicated and now stuffed into every nook and cranny of newer vehicles.
As a result, airbag recalls have skyrocketed. In fact, since 2011 just less than 8 million vehicles have been recalled because of airbag problems. That’s more than the all the air bag recalls from 2003 to 2011.
Air bags inflation without accident is a common airbag problem. In those cases, there may be an issue with the air bag sensor. Other problems often stem from electronic interference issues and complexity of the airbag system itself. Apparently, technology advances may also mean more opportunity for something to go wrong.
