The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Chrysler is recalling more than 919,000 older-model Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs worldwide because the airbags can inflate while people are driving them.
The recall affects 2002-2004 Grand Cherokees and 2002-2003 Libertys.
NHTSA says that a part can fail in the airbag control computer, and the front and side airbags can inflate while the SUVs are being driven. An agency investigation started last year found that the airbags went off 215 times, causing 81 minor injuries. No crashes were reported, but NHTSA said the problem could cause a wreck.
Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, will install an electrical filter free of charge to fix the problem. The company will begin notifying owners of the recall in January.
The recall includes nearly 745,000 SUVs in the U.S., 49,000 in Canada and 22,000 in Mexico. The rest are outside North America.
The Grand Cherokees covered by the recall were built from Aug. 1, 2001 to May 16, 2003, while the Libertys were built from June 6, 2001 to March 19, 2003.
