Feds Move Closer to Massive Air Bag Recall

Regulators say more than 50M inflators are dangerous
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 31, 2024 6:40 PM CDT
Feds Move Closer to Massive Air Bag Recall
The ARC Automotive, Inc. manufacturing facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.   (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

US auto safety regulators say they stand by a conclusion that more than 50 million air bag inflators are dangerous and should not be in use, taking another step toward a massive recall. The decision Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involves inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc. in Tennessee and another parts manufacturer. It comes despite opposition from automakers. The inflators in vehicles from 13 manufacturers can explode and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers, the AP reports.

The agency has said the inflators are responsible for at least seven injuries and two deaths in the United States and Canada since 2009. The NHTSA said seven of the inflators have blown apart in the field in the US, each showing evidence of insufficient welds or too much pressure in a canister designed to contain the explosion and fill the air bags in a crash.

  • In addition, the agency said 23 of the inflators have ruptured in testing with causes common to the inflators that blew apart in the field. Also, four inflators have ruptured outside the US, killing at least one person, the agency said.
  • "To be sure, the overwhelming majority of the subject inflators will not rupture upon deployment," the NHSTA wrote. "However, based on the evidence linking past ruptures to the same friction welding process, all of the subject inflators are at risk of rupturing."

  • Multiple automakers argued in public comments that NHTSA did not establish a safety defect and that none of the millions of inflators in their vehicles has ruptured. But NHTSA said the only way to know which of the ARC-designed inflators will blow apart is for them to deploy in a crash.
  • The agency will take comments again for 30 days, then use them to make a final decision on whether to pursue the massive recall. The government could wind up suing ARC in an effort to force a recall.
  • Regulators asked ARC in May 2023 to recall the inflators, but the company refused to issue a full-scale recall, setting the stage for the possible court fight.
  • At the heart of the issue is the metal inflator canister inside the airbag device. The government contends that a crucial flaw could cause this canister to "rupture" upon impact. Instead of releasing pressurized gas to inflate the air bag, the canister essentially explodes, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle at head height.
(More air bag stories.)

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