October 2, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V604000

Front Seat Air Bags Fasteners may Be Loose

Loose fasteners can cause the air bag to improperly deploy, increasing the risk of injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V604

Manufacturer Aston Martin The Americas

Components AIR BAGS

Potential Number of Units Affected 21

 

Summary

Aston Martin The Americas (Aston Martin) is recalling certain 2017 DB11, 2019 DB11 V8 Volante and DBS Superleggera, 2019-2020 Vantage and 2020 Superleggera Volante vehicles. The front seat air bag fasteners may not have been tightened correctly.

 

Remedy

Aston Martin will notify owners, and dealers will examine and, if necessary, secure the front seat air bag fasteners, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 5, 2020. Owners may contact Aston Martin customer service at 1-888-923-9988. Aston Martin’s number for this recall is RA-01-1418.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

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SAFETY RECALL ACTION

Reference number:	RA-01-1418	Issued: 29th September, 2020
Subject:	Incorrect Installation of the Front Seat Airbags
Model(s):	DB11, Vantage, DBS Superleggera
VIN Range:	Refer to the separately published list of Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs)
Applicable to:	All Dealers
Distribute to:	After Sales Manager Executive Manager Service Manager Sales Manager Warranty Staff Technician(s) Parts Staff

 

Attached Documents:

• Appendix A – Table that Shows the Quantities of Affected Vehicles
• Appendix B – Copy of the Owner Notification letter for vehicles in RA-01-1418
• Appendix C – Copy of the Change of Keeper or Address form

 

Reason for this Safety Recall Action (NHTSA Reference XXXXXX)

Aston Martin has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists on some DB11, Vantage and DBS Superleggera vehicles manufactured between February 2016 and December 2019.

On the affected vehicles, it is possible the locking nuts that attach the front seat airbags to the seat are not torqued to the correct specification.

To correct this problem, do the Workshop Procedure given in this document to examine the locking nuts, and if necessary, make sure they are torqued correctly.

The full list of VINs for the affected vehicles are attached to this Recall Action document.

PLEASE DO A CHECK OF ALL VEHICLES THAT ARE IN THE AFFECTED VIN LIST

 

Legal Requirements

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended, provides that each vehicle which is subject to a recall campaign of this type must be adequately repaired within a reasonable time after the owner has tendered it for repair. Failure to repair within sixty (60) days after tender of a vehicle is prima facie evidence of failure to repair within a reasonable time.

If the condition is not adequately repaired within a reasonable time, the owner may be entitled to an identical or reasonable equivalent vehicle at no charge, or to a refund of the purchase price less a reasonable allowance for depreciation.

To avoid having to provide these difficult solutions, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each owner and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copies of the letters that are being sent to Owners, the Owners are being instructed to contact Aston Martin Customer Service if their Dealer does not correct the condition within three (3) days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not corrected within a reasonable time, they are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

IMPORTANT: We remind you that it can be a violation of Section 30120(i) of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act required under this notice if a Dealer sells or leases a vehicle that is covered by this notice without first completing the repair.

 

Service Reception Desk – Checks you must do before you book the vehicle in.

When you make a reservation for a Customer, please make sure that you confirm the name and contact details are correct in Aston Martin’s records. To do this, please do the steps that follow:

1. Enter the vehicle’s 6-digit chassis number into DCS (amdealers.com) and click “Validate” (refer to Figure 1).
2. Make sure that the vehicle details are correct. If the current owner is correct, no action is necessary.
3. Make sure that the Customer name is correct. If the data is correct, then no action is necessary.
4. To update the Customer details, use the search feature to find the customer in your Synergy database (refer to Figure 2).

 

Note: The Customer record and updated details must have been entered into Synergy before you try to transfer the ownership in DCS.

 

5. If the correct Customer shows, click “confirm”.
6. If the correct Customer details do not show, click “add new”.

 

Before you start work

Log on to the Online Dealer Warranty (ODW) system. Do the steps that follow:

7. Select the Warranty Live screen (Outstanding Campaigns Status).
8. Download the VIN list from DCS and do a check of the VINs in your control.
9. Find out if there are other open Service Actions (SAs) or Recall Actions (RAs) for the vehicles in the list.
10. List the SAs and RAs and plan the work so that the Owner only needs to come to your Dealership once.

 

 

Workshop Procedure

This workshop procedure has two parts:

• Part A: Inspection
• Part B: Torque the Locking Nuts to the Correct Specification

Part A: Inspection

Note: Part A must be completed for both left and right side seats.

1. Operate the seat to its fully forward position (refer to Figure 3).
2. Pull the release handle to tilt the seat to its fully forward position (refer to Figure 4).
3. Use an endoscope on the underside of the seat to examine the two locking nuts for the seat airbag (refer to Figure 5).

4. This image shows two locking nuts that are incorrectly installed (Figure 6).
5. The lower fixing that clamps the ground eyelet must show a minimum of 4 visible threads. The upper fixing must show a minimum of 5 threads (refer to Figure 7).

 

Note: This image shows two locking nuts that are correctly installed with the ground eyelet correctly aligned.

 

6. If any of the locking nuts are not installed correctly go to Part B: Torque the Locking Nuts to the Correct Specification.

 

Part B: Torque the Locking Nuts to the Correct Specification

1. Remove the seat assembly from the vehicle (refer to Workshop Manual Procedures 01.10.AA for the left side seat and 01.10.AB for the right side seat).
2. Remove the seat back shell from the seat (refer to Workshop Manual Procedures 01.10.DU for the left side seat and 01.10.DR for the right side seat).

 

Note: Carefully release the clips that attach the seat back cover to the front seat. The clips can be lost in the seat.

 

WARNING: IF A LOCKING NUT IS MISSING, INSTALL A NEW LOCKING NUT WITH THE PART NUMBER GIVEN IN THE PART DATA. IF YOU DO NOT USE THE CORRECT PART, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE AIRBAG WILL NOT BE ATTACHED CORRECTLY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT AND NOT DEPLOY CORRECTLY.

 

3. Torque the two locking nuts that attach the seat airbag to the seat to 5.5 Nm. Align the ground eyelet to the bracket.
4. Install the seat back shell to the seat (refer to Workshop Manual Procedures 01.10.DU for the left side seat and DR for the right side seat).
5. Install the seat assembly to the vehicle (refer to Workshop Manual Procedures 01.10.AA for the left side seat and AB for the right side seat).

Note: New clips and fixings used to complete this procedure can be claimed for in the Warranty claim form.

 

Warranty Data

Make sure that you submit your claim in less than 24 hours after the work is completed. The records of your claims are used in the reporting process for the Recall Action that Aston Martin need to submit to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Note: You must send a photograph of incorrectly or correctly installed locking nuts with your claim. 

Save the photos as “jpeg – (6 Digit Chassis No) – RH” or “jpeg – (6 Digit Chassis No) – LH” Use the same format in the title of an email and send it to [email protected] Please be aware that Warranty claims may be charged back if a photograph is not received.

 

Procedure and Labour Time

Tier A:

Description	Labour Time
Inspect both seats only	0.5

 

Tier B:

Description	Labour Time
Inspect both seats, torque the Locking Nuts for the airbag in one seat	1.5

 

Tier C:

Description	Labour Time
Inspect both seats, torque the Locking Nuts for the airbag in two seats	2.5

 

Part Data

Description	Part Number	Quantity
M6 Lock Nut	703164	2 (Per seat)

 

Appendix A – Table that Shows the Quantities of Affected Vehicles in the US Market

Model	Registered & AMLNA Fleet (RA-01-1418)	Port & Dealer Not Registered (QN-01-1418)	Build Range (MM/YY)
DB11	14	0	02/16 to 08/18
Vantage	4	1	08/18 to 12/19
DBS Superleggera	2	0	10/18 to 10/19
TOTAL	20	1

 

Please Note:

When you have completed this Safety Recall Action, make sure that you make an entry in Section A of the Vehicle Owner’s Guide to show that the procedure is completed.

If you have any questions related to this document, please refer to the ‘Contact Us’ link on this webpage, or contact your local Dealer or After Sales Manager. The English version of this document is written in  Simplified Technical English to ASD-STE100™.

 

Appendix B – Copy of the Owner Notification Letter for Vehicles in RA-01-1418

[Date DD Month, YYYY]

[Customer Name]
[Customer Address 1]
[Customer Address 2]
[Customer City/County]
[Customer Country]

 

IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NOTICE
NHTSA Recall XXXXXX

This notice applies to your vehicle: [INSERT VIN]

Dear [Customer]

Safety Recall Action RA-01-1418 – Incorrect Installation of the Front Seat Airbags

 

REASON FOR THIS RECALL ACTION

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Aston Martin has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain vehicles that were manufactured from February 2016 through December 2019.

On the affected vehicles, it is possible that the front seat airbag fasteners may not be tightened to the correct torque specification.

This defect may cause the airbag to not deploy correctly, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

The models affected are:

• 2016 – 2018 DB11 (Coupe and Volante)
• 2018 – 2019 DBS Superleggera (Coupe and Volante)
• 2018 – 2019 Vantage (Coupe)

 

WHAT WE WILL DO

We will examine the front seat airbag fasteners and, retighten them if necessary to make sure that the airbag is secured correctly. This will be performed free of charge.

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Please contact your Aston Martin dealer as soon as possible to arrange a date for the repair. They will be able to fully explain why this Recall Action is necessary. Instructions for making this correction have been sent to your dealer. The labour time necessary to complete this service correction is a maximum of 2.5 hours. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed to schedule and process your vehicle.

Your Aston Martin dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide the service to make sure that your vehicle is corrected as promptly as possible. If, however you take your vehicle to your dealer on the agreed service date and they do not remedy this condition on that date, or within three days, we recommend that you contact Aston Martin Customer Service by calling 1-866278-6661.

If after contacting your dealer and Aston Martin Customer Services, you are still not able to have the safety defect remedied without charge and within a reasonable time, you may wish to write to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590 or call 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

 

IF YOU NO LONGER OWN THE VEHICLE

If you have sold or traded your vehicle, please tell us by completing the enclosed Change of Keeper form and returning it to us.

Federal regulations require that any lessor receiving this recall notice must forward a copy of this notice to the lessee within ten days.

We are sorry to cause inconvenience with this Recall Action. However, this action has been taken in the interest of your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

Yours sincerely

 

[Dealer’s Representative]
[Representative’s Job Title]
[Dealer Name]

 

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6 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
ASTON MARTIN	DB11	2017, 2019
ASTON MARTIN	DBS SUPERLEGGERA	2019-2020
ASTON MARTIN	VANTAGE	2019-2020

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3 Associated Documents

Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V604-9552.PDF 217.976KB

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Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) Safety Recall Bulletin re BMW Recall 20V-xxx: High-Voltage Battery

RCMN-20V604-2938.pdf 955.828KB

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V604-8187.pdf 243.995KB

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V604&docType=RCL

For the most up to date documents from NHTSA for this Recall, click the lick above

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Last update on 2021-05-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API