Hyundai is recalling 5,200 model-year 2012-13 Azera sedans due to a problem with the airbag system that could prevent it from recognizing whether a passenger is an adult or a child, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Affected vehicles were manufactured between May 22 and Nov. 23, 2012. The occupant detection system may fail to properly differentiate whether the front passenger-seat occupant is an adult, a child or a child-safety seat; if this happens during a crash in which airbags deploy, the affected airbag may respond with greater or lesser force than appropriate, increasing the risk of an injury. Jim Trainor, Hyundai spokesman, said the automaker believes the actual number of vehicles with the problem will be “less than 1 percent” of the 5,200 included in the recall.
