At least 50 vehicle models across 15 automotive brands contain air bag inflators that regulators have warned could explode during a crash and spray the car's interior with metal shrapnel, according to records filed as part of a federal safety-defect investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports.
On Friday the publication identified 6.8 million vehicles built by automakers — including Chevy, Ford, Porsche, Hyundai, and Kia — that contain the potentially dangerous air bag component. This information is based on The Journal's review of documents submitted by manufacturers to regulators during an eight-year investigation conducted by the U.S. government.
One week ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asked ARC Automotive to recall 67 million of the inflators made by the Knoxville, Tennessee-based parts maker. The NHTSA's request includes both the driver- and passenger-side air bags for vehicles built by at least 12 automakers between 2000 and 2018.
ARC's inflators were designed to activate during a collision, and upon impact rapidly deploy and fill the air bag. Instead, reports indicate that they can potentially explode when activated and hurl sharp metal fragments throughout a car's interior ... and at the vehicle's driver and passengers.
The NHTSA has yet to release a total number of vehicles affected or a comprehensive list of the models involved, and it declined to supply The Journal a list of vehicles affected by its recall demand. However, the auto-safety regulator has reported that ARC Automotive's faulty inflators have so far resulted in at least two fatalities and multiple injuries.
Last week, Stephen Ridella, director of the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, wrote in a letter to ARC Automotive that, based on its investigation, "Air bag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached air bag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury."
On May 11, Steve Gold, ARC Automotive's vice president of product integrity, replied in a letter to Ridella: "There is no legal basis for NHTSA's 'demand' that ARC conduct a safety recall. NHTSA's authority to require manufacturers to conduct safety recalls does not extend to manufacturers that supply original equipment for installation in new motor vehicles."
A records review by the Journal identified that the General Motors Co. appears to be the most impacted among automakers, with at least 3.6 million GM vehicles containing ARC's potentially dangerous inflators. GM has already issued recalls of four models ranging from 2008 to 2017, with its most recent recall covering 995,000 SUVs.
There is concern from some that the NHTSA has yet to specify all car models involved in its investigation, and that its refusal to disclose such information could be a significant problem for car owners.
Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, explained that this case is different since the regulator's demand focuses on a component rather than a particular vehicle. However, he also believes that since so many vehicles have air bags containing the potentially dangerous inflators, the NHTSA should consider releasing its findings.
"It's really helpful for consumers to have that," Brooks said, "so they can at least clarify whether or not they have this thing in their car."
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