— A 2010-2013 Mazda CX-9 side curtain airbag recall is allegedly not necessary after safety regulators found the incident failures rates and warranty claim rates were low.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened its investigation into inadvertent side curtain airbag deployments in Mazda CX-9 SUVs.
NHTSA is aware of 11 unintentional side airbag deployments out of more than 104,000 model year 2010-2013 vehicles. The last known incident occurred in December 2020, and no serious injuries have been reported.
Mazda doesn't deny there is a problem, but the automaker says the cause was traced to the Bosch SMG076 roll rate sensor within the restraint control module. Small particles may affect the roll sensor and send a faulty signal to the side airbag. But in November 2012 a new roll rate sensor was launched which allegedly took care of the problem.
Mazda says a properly seated occupant won't get hit with the side curtain airbag if it deploys, causing no harm to the head or brain. And an out-of-position occupant allegedly isn't in danger of serious harm.
According to NHTSA, the low rate of inadvertent airbag deployments doesn't warrant a recall of the vehicles.