On February 13, 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall of 2,142 AGV Tourmodular helmets. According to the NHTSA Safety Recall Report, NHTSA Recall #24E-014, the ratchet-style chin strap buckle may fail to engage correctly on some of these helmets, creating the potential for the helmet to come off in a crash. We reviewed the AGV Tourmodular helmet last September. The recall remedy calls for Dainese, which owns AGV, to notify distributors, dealers, and purchasers of the helmet by April 12, 2024. Dainese will remedy the buckle function by applying lubricant to the affected subcomponents at no charge.
According to the report, the affected AGV Tourmodular helmets were produced from February 1 to December 31, 2022. The buckle may fail to engage on the affected helmets because subcomponents in the buckle were not manufactured to the correct specifications, causing the ratchet not to engage automatically in some cases.
For helmets manufactured from January to July 2023, the manufacturer applied a lubricant to the buckle to prevent the binding that may result in the buckle failing to latch, and implemented 100 percent inspection of the affected subcomponent.
The example in our review was manufactured in January 2023. The buckle has always locked properly with audible clicks as the ratchet engages each of the raised teeth on the metal slide. The helmet was also shipped with a small bottle of silicone lubricant. We always confirm a secure closure with a firm tug on the chin strap before riding.
The manufacturer became aware of the problem in December 2022 when a customer sent in a buckle that would not latch automatically, but would lock when the red latch lever was manually engaged. In January 2023, helmets with the buckle and inventory of buckles were checked for compliance with specifications. In June 2023, shipments of the AGV helmets that could be involved and required additional conformance testing were stopped before further lots could be released.
No injuries related to the AGV Tourmodular buckle issue have been reported.
