For nearly a decade, automakers from BMW to Honda have been recalling and replacing faulty airbags in the largest single recall in U.S. history.
Over 67 million airbags made by former Japanese auto supplier Takata were found to contain faulty airbag inflators that can severely hurt or kill drivers in a crash.
Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned drivers that many of the replacement airbags in older cars could contain “cheap, substandard replacement airbag inflators that can cause death or serious injury in a crash.”
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The NHTSA continues to be concerned about airbag safety, and it is set to force a massive recall that will soon affect millions of cars on American roads.
In a recent announcement, the NHTSA said that it took a major step toward forcing a recall on as many as 51 million airbag inflators that have been linked to explosions that can cause serious or fatal injuries.
The federal agency’s Supplemental Initial Decision found that airbag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC were defective after the agency faced significant industry pushback during an extended comment period.
An anticipated recall will affect over 51 million airbag inflators installed in more than 49 million cars.
Faulty airbag inflators
From 2000 to early 2018, the parts manufactured by ARC and Delphi were used in the airbag assemblies installed in cars made by nearly a dozen automakers, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Stellantis, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
These faulty airbag inflators pose very similar risks to those made by Takata almost 10 years ago.
Airbag inflators are small metal canisters filled with a chemical propellant designed to inflate an airbag in the event of a crash. The NHTSA alleges that debris from the welding process blocks off the nozzle at the tip of the inflator, where trapped gas can cause the inflator to explode.
An exploding inflator can send large metal fragments flying at an occupant’s chest, neck, eyes, and face, causing death or severe injuries. According to the NHTSA, there have been nine cases of ruptured airbags that have led to injuries, including two deaths, that span as far back as 2009 to as recently as March 2023.
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ARC’s new deadline
Knoxville, Tenn.-based ARC Automotive Inc. has pushed back against the NHTSA on several occasions since May 2023, as it argued that its airbag inflators were not dangerous.
During a public hearing on Oct. 5, 2023, an executive from ARC testified against a recall, telling NHTSA officials that the results from the data they collected and testing they conducted suggested that the incidents linked to the inflators were “isolated” and were “not indicative of a systemic defect.”
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The NHTSA’s latest move gives ARC 30 days to respond to the agency’s request for a recall. The agency’s fine print states that within this period, ARC is allowed to “present information, views, and arguments showing that there is no defect or noncompliance or that the defect does not affect motor vehicle safety,” as per federal law.
If ARC fails to provide such information, the agency “will order ARC to comply with the obligation to file notice of the safety defect with the agency and will order the vehicle manufacturers to carry out recalls by providing notice and a free remedy.”
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