The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether the recall Chrysler launched to correct airbag problems in 744,822 SUVs in fact corrected the defect in the vehicles.

Back on Nov 7, 2012, Chrysler issued a safety recall to address the possibility of an inadvertent air bag deployment (IABD) in Jeep Liberty vehicles from the 2002 and 2003 model years as well as Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles from the 2002 to 2004 model years. The Liberty included was built through March 28, 2003 and the Grand Cherokee included was built through May 23, 2003.

NHTSA explained the recall was in response to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) during which data provided by Chrysler indicated that the air bag squib filter circuitry inside the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) module can degrade.

“ORC degradation can result in an inadvertent air bag deployment, without a crash or impact, while the vehicle is being operated on the roadway,” agency officials said. “An IABD may result in injuries consisting of burns, cuts and bruises to the upper body region.

“Some owners have informed NHTSA that the air bag warning light (ABL) and/or chime activated just seconds prior to the IABD, while others informed that no ABL illumination occurred,” they continued.

NHTSA said the remedy Chrysler developed consisted of installing an in-line jumper harness with an integrated electrical filter for the circuits that connect to the air bag modules (squib circuits). This filter is intended to eliminate transient electrical spikes to the ORC, which Chrysler believes are responsible for the IABDs.

“In discussions with ODI, Chrysler reported it is aware of six vehicles that have had an IABD after the recall was conducted. In each case the remedy filter had been installed in the vehicle,” agency officials said.

“No crashes were reported. However, injuries consisting of cuts and burns were alleged. A recall query has been opened to investigate the effectiveness of the remedy for the recall,” they went on to say.