The 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe could be subject to a formal investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over a potential issue with airbag deployment.
The agency received a petition from automotive expert-witness firm Xprts that details a rollover accident that occurred in 2011. Several occupants in the second and third rows were allegedly ejected, resulting in one fatality.
The filing argues that the Tahoe involved in the crash used second- and third-row curtain airbags that lack tethers on both ends, allowing passengers to be ejected if the bags shift out of the way. The side-curtain airbags for front occupants are tethered at both ends, providing a higher level of protection.
“The lack of sufficient roof strength to avoid or limit window breakage of the second and third rows and the lack of tethering both ends of the window curtain airbags are the defects which resulted in injury and death,” the petition notes.
The company suggests GM began implementing the same untethered curtain airbags in 2005, affecting millions of vehicles. Untethered airbags are not uncommon in the segment, but Xprts argues that they may not be as dangerous in vehicles with higher roof strength.
The NHTSA is now considering the petition to determine if a deeper investigation is warranted. A preliminary review of complaint data found no similar reports of occupant ejects in the 2007-2015 Tahoe or its stablemate, the GMC Yukon.
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