Stellantis is recalling nearly 285,000 Dodge, Chrysler vehicles over a potentially fatal air bag defect.

Stellantis has he remembered thousands of Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 vehicles due to a manufacturing defect that could cause air bags to inflate unexpectedly, causing pieces of metal to fly out, potentially killing passengers.

Fiat Chrysler America (FCA) said in a memo that it began investigating the inflation issue last month and found that some “affected vehicles may have had moisture introduced into the inflation.” The moisture may have caused corrosion in the respirator, which could lead to rupture, the company said. If the intake manifold ruptures, compressed gas can be rapidly released from the intake manifold by propellant material throughout the vehicle, the recall documents state.

“A ruptured tire can cause sharp pieces of metal to strike the occupants, causing injury or death,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in letter for chrysler agreeing to the recall.

The automaker has received two warranty claims and five reports of customers needing assistance related to the issue. No accidents or injuries related to the airbag inflator failure have been reported, according to FCA in a letter to NHTSA.

The 284,982 recalled vehicles include some 2018-2021 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models. Notification letters are expected to be sent to owners on May 3, 2024, and will ask them to send the company sufficient proof of payment for their recalled vehicle to receive a full refund. cost of repair. Dealers will replace both side airbags free of charge, the recall notice says.

Owners may contact FCA US, LLC customer service at 1-800-853-1403. The FCA US, LLC number for this return is 19B.

Owners can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Motor Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov. The NHTSA safety issue ID is 24V198 and can be tracked here.

The airbag recall comes a month after Stellantis-owned Chrysler recalled more than 338,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees due to a problem with the rubber joint that can cause the driver to lose control, thus causing an accident.