GM Recall Targets New Takata Airbag Flaw

2014 Chevrolet Cruze

Takata Corp. airbag inflators assembled with the wrong baffle have triggered new recalls at General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. involving devices made as recently as June 20.

On Friday Nissan said it was recalling about 1,900 of its 2013-2014 model Infiniti XQ45/QX80 crossovers to replace the faulty inflators. Their incorrect baffles could cause an explosion that sprays metal fragments into the passenger compartment.

On Saturday the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported GM is recalling about 29,000 Chevrolet Cruze small sedans to fix the same problem. Those cars also are 2013-2014 models.

The new defect is different from the one that has sparked 10 carmakers to recall about 7.8 million vehicles in the U.S. Those campaigns are replacing poorly welded Takata inflators. But the effect of both defects shrapnel sprayed into the car is the same.