The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently looking into whether or not a recall might have to be initiated on a certain model of car.
The investigation by the agency was prompted by a complaint filed with the NHTSA regarding the 2012 Hyundai Elantra. The person making that complaint has alleged that their ear was badly cut when a crash caused the the driver’s side curtain air bag to inflate. They say that, when this happened, a metal bracket also shot outward, damaging the person’s ear and, if photos are to be believed, leaving a piece of metal jutting outward just above the vehicle operator’s seat.
Now, the NHTSA wants to figure out if this problem could be prevalent in the 123,000 other 2012 Elantras currently in customers’ hands or available for sale on the vehicle market. If a safety problem becomes apparent, then a recall might have to be initiated, although that has not yet happened at this time.
For their part, Hyundai has stated that this is the only such reported occurrence of this type of incident since the vehicle was made available for sale on or shortly before June of last year. They have also said that neither they nor the NHTSA has even gotten a chance to examine the auotomobile as of yet.