— An airbag class action lawsuit has been filed against airbag manufacturer Key Safety Systems (Joyson), Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and General Motors.
The lawsuit alleges defective roof-rail airbag inflators are installed in GM vehicles and Ram trucks are equipped with defective side curtain airbag inflators.
The FCA and GM vehicles include these models.
- 2015-2016 GMC Sierra 1500
- 2015 GMC Sierra 2500
- 2015 GMC Sierra 3500
- 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
- 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500
- 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 3500
- 2015-2019 Ram 1500
- 2015-2020 Ram 2500
- 2015-2020 Ram 3500
- 2019-2020 Ram 1500 Classic
New Jersey plaintiff Glenn Sager owns a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado he purchased in April 2020, and Missouri plaintiff Thomas Harries owns a 2015 GMC Sierra he purchased August 1, 2021.
Neither plaintiff alleges their airbag inflators ruptured or had any problems, but both plaintiffs claim their trucks lost value because of the airbags.
The class action alleges FCA and GM failed to adequately investigate the roof-rail and side curtain airbag problems and both automakers were too slow to issue recalls. The two plaintiffs also claim the automakers continue to conceal the facts about the airbag inflators.
When FCA and GM issued their recalls, both automakers said moisture may have entered the roof-rail airbag inflators during production by Joyson. Moisture can cause corrosion inside the inflators and the end caps can separate from the inflators, or the sidewalls can rupture.
GM recall documents filed with safety regulators say three model year 2015 Silverado trucks suffered from ruptured roof-rail airbag inflators, all three while the trucks were unoccupied.
GM said the three steel inflator sidewalls split open and released gas stored inside the chambers. Two of the Silverados were in Texas and the other truck was in Florida.
General Motors says 1% of the recalled trucks may have defective roof-rail airbag inflators, and Chrysler says about 22% of its recalled vehicles might be affected.
The Chrysler Ram truck recall was announced in August for more than 212,000 trucks in the U.S.
According to the class action lawsuit, Chrysler and General Motors should repair or replace the airbags and/or "buyback all Class Vehicles, and to fully reimburse and make whole all members of the Classes for all costs and economic losses."
The airbag class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Sager, et al., v. Key Safety Systems, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Seeger Weiss LLP, Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C., Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis, & Miles, P.C., and Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP.
