NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
14 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · May 20, 2025
Engine
The timing chain went out, and it is a common problem with this same make and model of vehicle, and no recall has been issued. My safety was at risk because my car showed no warnings of breaking down, it was well maintained, and there was a manufacturing error that caused me to suddenly lose all power on a highway. I couldn’t ma…
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The timing chain went out, and it is a common problem with this same make and model of vehicle, and no recall has been issued. My safety was at risk because my car showed no warnings of breaking down, it was well maintained, and there was a manufacturing error that caused me to suddenly lose all power on a highway. I couldn’t make it to a safe area to pull over, and was stuck on the side of the highway for hours not understand why my car was not running
NHTSA ODI #11662212
Mileage unknown · Aug 14, 2024
Engine
Driving our car down the road. No engine lights or warnings and the engine powered down and the car came to a complete stop. Vehicle was a 2017 certified pre-owned which we have had for about three years. It has 61k miles and has always been serviced by the local land rover dealership. Vehicle was serviced by the landrover d…
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Driving our car down the road. No engine lights or warnings and the engine powered down and the car came to a complete stop. Vehicle was a 2017 certified pre-owned which we have had for about three years. It has 61k miles and has always been serviced by the local land rover dealership. Vehicle was serviced by the landrover dealership two months prior to this incident and there was no recommended service for the engine. Towed the vehicle to the Land Rover dealership. They found the timing chain broke/came loose and now saying the engine is completely destroyed and we have to buy a new engine. Looking online there are multiple complaints and forums about timing chain issues and them causing complete engine failures. Seems like this is a factory defect that is not being addressed.
NHTSA ODI #11608545
Mileage unknown · Jul 26, 2024
Engine
Catastrophic failure of all internal components. Recommended to replace engine. The car failed in the road while driving, powered down, and locked in Park. Jaguar Land Rover of Henderson Nevada diagnosed the issue. Active codes were found for: timing issues (timing belt replaced in 2022), low compression in all cylinders. There …
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Catastrophic failure of all internal components. Recommended to replace engine. The car failed in the road while driving, powered down, and locked in Park. Jaguar Land Rover of Henderson Nevada diagnosed the issue. Active codes were found for: timing issues (timing belt replaced in 2022), low compression in all cylinders. There were no warning lights or previous issues before failure.
NHTSA ODI #11604803
Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2024
Engine
My SUV currently has 55K miles. The pin came out of the timing chain and the car stopped on a major bridge. The dealership charged me $4,294.24 to fix the vehicle. I thought this was surprising because cars should not have issues with the timing chain this early and below 100K miles. I did a search on the internet and found ou…
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My SUV currently has 55K miles. The pin came out of the timing chain and the car stopped on a major bridge. The dealership charged me $4,294.24 to fix the vehicle. I thought this was surprising because cars should not have issues with the timing chain this early and below 100K miles. I did a search on the internet and found out there is a petition currently going on right now on change.gov. [XXX] The petition says "Make Jaguar Land Rover recall vehicles with potential timing chain issues." There are thousands of people like me who are experiencing this same issue and the dealerships are charging them thousands of dollars to fix the timing chain when it should actually be a "recall." Please investigate this issue with Jaguar Land Rover and make the issue with the timing chain a major recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI #11568152
Mileage unknown · Sep 12, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemVehicle Speed ControlCrash
Around June of this year, my engine light came on. I took it to my technician, who cleared the code. After an accident on 7/4/23, and after picking the car up from being repaired, the engine light came on again. It is a code that indicates there is a "Cracked or faulty turbo charger". Extensive research has shown this to be a ma…
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Around June of this year, my engine light came on. I took it to my technician, who cleared the code. After an accident on 7/4/23, and after picking the car up from being repaired, the engine light came on again. It is a code that indicates there is a "Cracked or faulty turbo charger". Extensive research has shown this to be a manufacturing defect, which can cause catastrophic failure. The manufacturer, Tata Motors is well aware of this problem and has been since 2011, yet they continued to build cars with this defect. The manifold that the turbo charger is attached to at the back of this transverse engine, has a weld across the entire top. A weld in a manifold of any kind is inappropriate and dangerous. The only option is to have a $6,000 repair done. This is unacceptable and I demand that Tata Motors issue a recall for the years affected.
NHTSA ODI #11544116
Mileage unknown · Dec 11, 2022
Engine
As I was accelerating to enter I-495, The check engine light appeared and the engine lost all power and died. The the entire car lost power to include the engine, power steering and power brakes. There was a noise from the engine compartment and the transmission selector know dropped into a powered off position and would not…
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As I was accelerating to enter I-495, The check engine light appeared and the engine lost all power and died. The the entire car lost power to include the engine, power steering and power brakes. There was a noise from the engine compartment and the transmission selector know dropped into a powered off position and would not raise up. There was no accident, but it was very close to being an accident. I was able to coast over to the shoulder, but was nearly hit from behind by a tractor trailer as I maneuvered to get out of of the travel lanes. The Range Rover dealer determined the cause to be a broken timing chain. This should not happen on a vehicle that was maintained per manufacture guidance and only had 67,536 miles. The engine had to be replaced.
NHTSA ODI #11496960
22,000 miles · Jan 27, 2020
Engine
WE LEASED FROM ROSENTHAL JAGUAR/LAND ROVER IN VIENNA, VA ON JANUARY 7, 2018 A 2017 LAND ROVER RR EVOQUE. WE LEASED THE VEHICLE FOR USE BY OUR SON, WHO IS A PH.D. STUDENT. DURING THE PAST YEAR, OUR SON HAS HAD TWO POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING INCIDENTS WITH THE VEHICLE. ON FEBRUARY 16, 2019 WHILE DRIVING THE RANGE ROVER ON HWY 47…
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WE LEASED FROM ROSENTHAL JAGUAR/LAND ROVER IN VIENNA, VA ON JANUARY 7, 2018 A 2017 LAND ROVER RR EVOQUE. WE LEASED THE VEHICLE FOR USE BY OUR SON, WHO IS A PH.D. STUDENT. DURING THE PAST YEAR, OUR SON HAS HAD TWO POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING INCIDENTS WITH THE VEHICLE. ON FEBRUARY 16, 2019 WHILE DRIVING THE RANGE ROVER ON HWY 476 NEAR PHILADELPHIA, WHEN HE ACCELERATED, THE ENGINE CUT OUT, LEAVING HIM TRAVELING AT A SUBSTANTIAL RATE OF SPEED ON A HIGHWAY WITHOUT POWER. A LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD READING "GEAR BOX FAULT". MY SON WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY (BUT ONLY AT A PLACE WHERE IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO BE). JAGUAR RANGE ROVER ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE WAS CONTACTED. IT TOOK APPROXIMATELY FOUR HOURS FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO COME. ALL THE WHILE MY SON WAS STANDING OUTSIDE THE CAR IN FREEZING WEATHER IN A SITUATION THAT EXPOSED HIM TO CONSIDERABLE DANGER. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO ALLENTOWN RANGE ROVER WHERE THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A FAULT FROM A CELENOID IN THE TRANSMISSION. REPAIR WORK WAS DONE AND THE PROBLEM, WE WERE TOLD, WAS CORRECTED. HOWEVER, THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN ON DECEMBER 14, 2019, WHILE MY SON WAS DRIVING ON HWY I-95 NORTH OF RICHMOND, VA. MY SON STEPPED ON THE GAS, AND THE ENGINE STOPPED RESPONDING, "GEAR BOX FAULT" APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. MY SON, FORTUNATELY, WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE HE CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. THIS TIME HE WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR BEFORE ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE ARRIVED. WE THEN PROMPTLY REPORTED THE MATTER TO ROSENTHAL JAGUAR/LAND ROVER, SPEAKING TO A MR. MOHAMMAD NORESTANI. NEITHER MY SON, MY WIFE, NOR I FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. TWICE THE ENGINE CUT OUT WHILE THE CAR WAS TRAVELING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND IN BOTH INSTANCES, MY SON'S LIFE WAS POTENTIALLY PUT AT RISK BY THIS PROBLEM. PLEASE SEE OUR REMAINING NOTES IN PDF ATTACHED. MPH AND MILEAGE IS APPROXIMATE.
NHTSA ODI #11302287
Mileage unknown · Sep 16, 2019
Engine
WITHIN THE LAST 5 MONTHS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE DEALERSHIP MORE THAN IN MY POSSESSION. THE VEHICLE IS COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY BUT FOR SOME REASON OVER THE COURSE OF 5 MONTHS THEY (LAND ROVER) CANNOT FIX MY WIFE'S CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND WHEN WE TAKE IT TO LAND ROVER THEY SAY THEY HA…
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WITHIN THE LAST 5 MONTHS THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE DEALERSHIP MORE THAN IN MY POSSESSION. THE VEHICLE IS COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY BUT FOR SOME REASON OVER THE COURSE OF 5 MONTHS THEY (LAND ROVER) CANNOT FIX MY WIFE'S CAR. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND WHEN WE TAKE IT TO LAND ROVER THEY SAY THEY HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM ONLY FOR THE VEHICLE TO BE BACK IN THE SHOP AGAIN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. ONCE AGAIN MY 2017 RANGE ROVER EVOQUE HAS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON. ON 9/12 WE RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE AFTER 3 WEEKS OF NO COMMUNICATION FROM LAND ROVER HUNTINGTON ADVISING THAT THEY ARE "STILL WORKING WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO FURTHER DIAGNOSIS THE VEHICLE". TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY SINCE THAT TIME WE RECEIVE A REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE REPLACING THE "BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS"ON A CAR THAT RECENTLY WENT THROUGH INSPECTION AND HAS LESS THAN 30K MILES ON IT. THIS IS VERY INSULTING AS 1) WE STILL HAVE NOT BEEN CALLED AND SPOKEN TO ANYONE REGARDING WHAT'S ACTUALLY WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. 2) THE CAR WAS NOT PUT IN FOR THIS SERVICE. WHY AREN'T THEY FOCUSING ON THE PROBLEM? ON FRIDAY WE RECEIVED YET ANOTHER TEXT FROM THEM (NO CALL) AND WERE TOLD THAT THE ENGINE NOW REQUIRES REPLACEMENT AND THAT IT WOULD BE ANOTHER FEW WEEKS BEFORE WE HAD OUR CAR RETURNED. AGAIN HOW IS THE ENGINE BAD ON A 2017 CAR THAT HAS SUCH LOW MILES? THIS ENTIRE PROCESS WITH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE, NOT RECEIVING A CALL BUT TEXT MESSAGES TO DISCUSS WHATS ACTUALLY WRONG WITH THE CAR TO NOW BEING TOLD ITS THE ENGINE MAKES THIS CAR UNSAFE AND HAS DRASTICALLY DIMINISHED ITS RESALE VALUE. SADLY NO ONE FROM THEIR CORPORATE DIVISION IS ATTEMPTING TO HELP, ACCOMMODATE OR MAKE US WHOLE IN ANYWAY. THERE ARE OTHER BLOGS OUT THERE THAT THE SAME THINGS HAS OCCURRED. I'M DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED IN THEIR BRAND AND CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THIS VEHICLE FOR MY WIFE.
NHTSA ODI #11255784
45,896 miles · Mar 18, 2019
EnginePower TrainVehicle Speed Control
I WAS DRIVING IN THE LEFT LANE OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH AND WAS BRAKING SLIGHTLY FOR TRAFFIC AND THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND GEARBOX FAULT AND PARKING BREAK FAULT STARTED FLASHING. I HAD TO CUT OFF THREE LANES OF MOVING TRAFFIC TO GET TO A SHOULDER. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN DRIVE BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. WE SHUT THE IGNI…
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I WAS DRIVING IN THE LEFT LANE OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH AND WAS BRAKING SLIGHTLY FOR TRAFFIC AND THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND GEARBOX FAULT AND PARKING BREAK FAULT STARTED FLASHING. I HAD TO CUT OFF THREE LANES OF MOVING TRAFFIC TO GET TO A SHOULDER. THE CAR WAS STUCK IN DRIVE BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. WE SHUT THE IGNITION AND THE CAR BECAME STUCK IN PARK. I HAD BEEN COMPLAINING OF NOISES AND A POOR PERFORMANCE FOR MONTHS WITH NO RESOLUTION. THE CAR SAT AT THE DEALERSHIP OF PURCHASE FOR 2 DAYS WITHOUT AN ANSWER BEFORE BEING MOVED TO ANOTHER DEALED THAT HAS STATED IT NEEDS A GEARBOX MODULE.
NHTSA ODI #11189719
40,000 miles · Feb 14, 2019
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train
I WAS DRIVING ON THE SOUTHERN STATE PARKWAY IN NEW YORK DURING RUSH HOUR. DRIVING APPROX 10MPH AT A STEADY PACE AND HAD BEEN IN THE CAR FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. ALL OF A SUDDEN MY 2017 EVOQUE STALLED OUT WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL. I CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAFFIC LANE, AS THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TIME TO PULL OFF THE ROA…
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I WAS DRIVING ON THE SOUTHERN STATE PARKWAY IN NEW YORK DURING RUSH HOUR. DRIVING APPROX 10MPH AT A STEADY PACE AND HAD BEEN IN THE CAR FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. ALL OF A SUDDEN MY 2017 EVOQUE STALLED OUT WHEN I PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL. I CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAFFIC LANE, AS THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TIME TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. ONCE I SHIFTED THE SHIFT KNOB INTO PARK, THE KNOB DISAPPEARED INTO THE CENTER CONSOLE AS PICTURED. NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO RESTART THE CAR WITH NO LUCK AND NO ERROR INDICATION ON THE DASH. THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND THE SHIFT KNOB WOULD NOT POP UP UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON, THE SHIFT KNOB REMAINED DOWN. ONCE THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED, THE DRIVER AND I COULD NOT SHIFT THE CAR OUT OF PARK TO NEUTRAL TO GET THE 2017 EVOQUE ON THE FLATBED. THE CAR HAD TO BE DRAGGED ONTO THE FLATBED IN PARK DUE TO THE INACCESSIBLE SHIFTER AND FAILED ENGINE/POWERTRAIN. THERE IS NO AVAILABLE ACCESSIBLE OVERRIDE TO UNLOCK OR RELEASE THIS SHIFTER. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD, NOT ONLY FOR THE POWERTRAIN STOPPING WITHOUT WARNING, BUT THE SHIFT KNOB DESCENDING INTO THE CENTER CONSOLE AND NOT ALLOWING THE GEAR TO BE CHANGED.
NHTSA ODI #11180171
Official recalls
2Dec 29, 2016
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain 2016 Land Rover Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles and 2017 Range Rover Evoque vehicles. The affected vehicles have a front passenger air bag inflator initiator that may fail to ignite during a crash, preventing the air bag from deploying.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a crash of sufficient severity, the front passenger air bag may not deploy as required, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 20, 2017. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is P094.
Dec 9, 2016
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC (Land Rover) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles manufactured May 30, 2016, to August 24, 2016, and 2016-2017 Range Rover Evoque vehicles manufactured June 7, 2016, to August 26, 2016. The affected vehicles have front lower control arm fasteners that may fail due to an assembly error, possibly resulting in separation of the steering knuckle.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the fasteners were to fail causing the knuckle to separate, vehicle handling may be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Land Rover will notify owners, and dealers will replace the hardware that connects the front lower control arm to the knuckle, free of charge. The recall began on January 27, 2017. Owners may contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Land Rover's number for this recall is Q650/Q651.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1EA21002 · Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Opened Sep 17, 2021 · No close date supplied
Status: open (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module; Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.