U.S. Probes Use of Defective Gas-Filled Struts

Safety officials in the U.S. are trying to determine how many carmakers may have used defective gas-filled struts from Stabilus GmbH to support the power rear liftgates of their minivans and crossovers.

Three carmakers Ford, Honda and Toyota have already recalled a combined 276,000 minivans to replace Stabilus-supplied struts that could lose pressure and fail, thus causing the liftgate to close suddenly. Those campaigns involve vehicles built during the 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 model years.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will contact Stabilus and other carmakers to determine whether additional models may have used the same strut design. If so, the agency says, those vehicles will be recalled.

Stabilus is headquartered in Koblenz, Germany. It has manufacturing facilities in several countries, including the U.S.