Stellantis has recalled 15,835 Fiat vehicles over a software error that may cause the front airbags to deploy with excessive force in a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
The motor company issued the report on Sept. 18 to NHTSA stating that the recall impacts owners of certain 2017-2020 Fiat 124 Spider vehicles.
The vehicle may have been built with airbag control module software that might improperly command a dual-stage front airbag deployment instead of the single-stage deployment in certain crashes, the report outlined.
If the vehicle deploys the dual-stage airbag instead of the single-stage airbag, the risk of injury may increase.
Due to the software error, the vehicle does not meet safety requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208 which can result in the next injury criteria not being met, the motor company said.
“The condition described above does not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 571.208, Occupant Crash protection requires certain performance related to neck injury criteria during 26 km/h (16 mph) frontal impact testing,” Stellantis said in a Sept. 19 statement.
They said the recall was due to a design issue of the accelerometer voltage specs being set incorrectly.
Stellantis will send letters to Fiat vehicle owners affected by this issue on Nov. 7 and notify dealers on Sept. 26,
Dealers will update each vehicle’s airbag control module software to the correct specifications for free, according to the NHTSA recall report.
Owners may contact FCA customer service at 1-800-853-1403. FCA’s number for this recall is A3B.