NHTSA Calls On Airbag Manufacturer ARC to Recall 67 Million Airbags for Safety Defect
Takata gets most of the negative attention when it comes to airbag recalls, but a Tennessee manufacturer is facing calls to pull back 67 million airbag inflators for risk of rupture and explosion. There have already been injuries related to the issue, and General Motors has agreed to its own recall to remedy the problem.
ARC manufactures airbag inflators found in several automakers’ vehicles, including BMW, Hyundai, GM, and Stellantis. GM agreed to recall almost a million cars with the inflators, but ARC is resisting the pressure. It said that the inflators are not defective but also noted that it would continue to work with NHTSA on the problem.
This is not the first time NHTSA has investigated ARC, as it first got on the government’s radar in 2016 when a driver was killed in a Hyundai equipped with its inflators. ARC’s testing showed no ruptures or problems, as it pulled airbags from scrapped or other vehicles to observe.
If ARC recalls the inflators, it will be on the level of the U.S. portion of the Takata airbag recall. These things can seem trivial, especially since most people aren’t often in car wrecks, but they can quickly turn dangerous if the airbag inflator is damaged or ruptured. The vehicle owner would have no idea until there’s shrapnel flying at their face. That makes it a pretty good idea not to ignore airbag recalls.
[Image: Chevrolet]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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makin cars aint easy
hmm...they won't be able to push this one off to the Motors Liquidation Corp it seems.