The United States government urged a recall for 67 million airbag inflators after an investigation into safety concerns. There have been allegations regarding the airbags that it could rupture and injure drivers and passengers.
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WOLFSBURG, GERMANY - MARCH 01: A workers installs an airbag into the steering wheel of a car on the assembly line for Volkswagen Touareg, Touran and T-Roc models at the Volkswagen factory on March 01, 2019 in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is scheduled to hold its annual press conference to announce financial results for last year on March 12.
Recalling 67 Million Airbags
After a lengthy investigation, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered a recall of 67 million airbag inflators in the country after citing incidents that involved rupturing airbags, leading to injuries and deaths of passengers since 2009.
Interesting Engineering reported that these were manufactured by ARC Automotive, based in Tennesee. This would cover a large portion of the 284 million vehicles now on the roads of the country. However, the percentage of existing vehicles is difficult to identify.
ARC catered its offerings to the US market until January 2018 and was supplied to six airbag manufacturers. This was incorporated into the airbag modules used by 12 unspecified automakers. NHTSA Spokesperson Veronica Moralless stated that the incidents that have happened have been severe despite their rare occurrence.
The potential defects are now being investigated by the authorities who will oversee recalls as required by the Vehicle Safety Act. NHTSA added, "Airbag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached airbag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury."
ARC's Response
Seven out of nine reported incidents happened in the country, with one resulting in death. A similar incident also happened in 2009 outside the US, in a Hyundai Elantra that killed a passenger due to a ruptured inflator. Despite this record, ARC disagrees with the need for a recall and refused the request.
Associated Press reported that the Knoxville-based company responded to the letter, saying that no defect exists in their manufactured inflators and any problems are related to isolated manufacturing issues. ARC Product Integrity Vice President Steve Gold wrote a letter to the agency.
He stated that there is no need to recall the issued 67 million airbags as it was not based on any objective technical or engineering conclusion regarding the existence of a defect. Aside from these factors, Gold argued that the company cooperated with the agency for eight years by testing 918 inflators pulled out from cars in salvage years.
Through these tests, both ARC and NHTSA found no rupture in the airbag inflators. The agency stood its ground and called the company for a full explanation with additional analysis of the problem beyond ARC's previous presentations.
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While the agency did not specify any brands, General Motors is recalling more than 42,000 vehicles in Canada over concerns regarding airbag inflators, bringing the total number of affected vehicles in North America to more than one million. Bloomberg reported that the recall includes vehicles like Buick Enclave 2014-2017, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia.
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