Airbag issues have affected almost every auto manufacturer and millions of vehicles. Most of them deal with malfunctioning Takata steering wheel airbags, but not this one. Ram is recalling 212,000 Ram trucks over side airbags blowing out. When this happens it sends gas and fragments from the airbag into the Ram truck’s cabin. 

In this airbag recall, moisture is causing the airbags to malfunction. The affected Ram trucks include 2015-2020 Ram 1500 Classics, 2015-2016 Ram 2500s and 3500s, and 2016 Ram 3500 chassis cabs. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, only certain trucks from each of these models are affected. 

From the NHTSA Ram airbag recall notice

• On December 9, 2020, FCA US, LLC (“FCA US”) Vehicle Safety and Regulatory Compliance (“VSRC”) opened an investigation after discovering that some SABIC’s with moisture contaminated inflators may have been built into vehicles.

• From December 9, 2020, to July 8, 2021, multiple discussions took place between FCA US VSRC and the supplier. It was found that moisture introduced into the inflator during supplier manufacturing may cause internal corrosion over time. It could potentially lead to Stress Corrosion Cracking (“SCC”) in the inflator. FCA US was informed by the supplier that its SABICs were built on a line that was not affected by the moisture contamination issue. FCA US VSRC acquired 33 SABIC’s from FCA US vehicles built with SABIC’s from the inflator suspect period. The supplier was sent the inflator for analysis. During the analysis, no evidence was found of SCC.

In July 2021 another Ram airbag rupture was reported

On July 8, 2021, FCA US VSRC was notified of a SABIC inflator rupture on a 2015 Ram 1500 vehicle. The moisture contamination of the inflator from the suspect lines was manufactured within the suspect time period.

By August 5, 2021, FCA US has identified one customer assistance record, zero warranty claims, and zero-field reports potentially relating to this issue for all markets.

FCA US is not aware of any accidents or injuries potentially relating to this issue for all markets.

Then on August 05, 2021, FCA US determined, through the Vehicle Regulations Committee, to conduct a voluntary safety recall.

Where to look for answers or if your truck is part of the recall

Stellantis is not aware of any injuries related to this latest recall. It plans on notifying owners and dealers by October 1. Owners will not have to pay to replace those side airbags found to be defective. 

If you have questions or concerns you can contact Stellantis. Do you think you might have one of the recalled trucks? You can put your VIN number into this site to determine if it is part of the recall.