Ram pickup air bags can fail in rollover; one death reported

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Fiat Chrysler is recalling approximately 1 million Ram pickups in North America due to a software glitch that could prevent side air bags and seatbelts from deploying during a rollover.

The company’s U.S. division said Friday that it is aware of one death, two injuries and two accidents that may be related to the problem.

The recall includes some 2013-16 Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups and 2014-2016 Ram 3500 pickups. It also affects about 216,007 vehicles in Canada, 21,668 in Mexico and 21,530 outside the NAFTA region.

After some trucks experience significant underbody impact, a computer module may incorrectly determine that one of its sensors has failed, temporarily disabling the side air bag and seat belt pretensioner, the company said.

If the vehicle is turned off and then back on, those restraints become functional again.

The company plans to reprogram the software in effected vehicles free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 23.