An accident involving a 2012 Hyundai Elantra that reportedly resulted in a side curtain airbag lacerating a driver’s ear and face has captured the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has opened a preliminary investigation into the matter.
“The photographs of the model year 2012 Hyundai Elantra provided by the vehicle owner show a metal component protruding from the left edge of the headliner above the driver’s seat,” said the safety agency.
“It appears that the metal component caused a laceration to the driver’s ear/face,” NHTSA added.
Hyundai released a statement saying, “The evaluation is in the very early stages” and that it has not had the opportunity yet to inspect the vehicle in question. The Korean automaker noted that it “has no other reports of injury from side curtain air bag deployment in 2012 Elantras.”
While the NHTSA has not yet issued a recall, the agency said, “An investigation has been opened to evaluate the alleged defect in the subject vehicles”.
The probe covers an estimated 123,000 units of the 2012 Elantra.
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