The defect
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (Suzuki) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Grand Vitara and 2007-2011 SX4 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, over time, the OCS sensor mat installed in the front passenger seat may fail due to repeated flexing of the mat from use of the seat. As a result, during a crash necessitating deployment, the air bag will deploy regardless of whether the front seat occupant is an adult or a child.
The risk
Air bag deployment with a child in the front passenger side seat increases the risk of injury to that child.
The remedy
Suzuki will notify owners and dealers will replace the front passenger seat cushion assembly (which includes the OCS sensor mat) free of charge. Sufficient quantities of parts are not currently available to fix all of the affected vehicles. Owners will be notified of the recall in October 2013 and will receive a second notification when parts are available to have their vehicle repaired. The recall began on May 23, 2014. Owners may contact Suzuki at 1-800-934-0934. Suzuki's recall campaign number is VD.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
Components: AIR BAGS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2006 | 161 | 6 |
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2007 | 58 | 3 |
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2008 | 42 | 2 |
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2009 | 14 | 4 |
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2010 | 20 | 5 |
| Suzuki Grand Vitara | 2011 | 11 | 4 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2007 | 73 | 2 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2008 | 101 | 3 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2009 | 48 | 3 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2010 | 21 | 5 |
| Suzuki SX4 | 2011 | 13 | 3 |
Other air bags recalls in 2013
23 of the 627 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2013 concerned the air bags; Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. filed 33 campaigns in all.
| 13V607000 2 Dec 2013 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 13V564000 12 Nov 2013 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 13V555000 6 Nov 2013 | Chrysler Group LLC |
| 13V542000 1 Nov 2013 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 13V456000 26 Sept 2013 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 13V412000 19 Sept 2013 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 13V315000 19 Jul 2013 | General Motors LLC |
| 13V291000 2 Jul 2013 | Chrysler Group LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2013