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A Utah mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming her 17-year-old daughter was killed by a defective airbag replacement in a salvage-title car bought from AutoSavvy.Denver7 Investigates has learned the same danger could be hiding in cars on Colorado roads.
“This is a fully survivable crash that, had this airbag functioned the way it’s supposed to, she is here with us today,” attorney Andrew Parker Felix, who is representing the family, told Denver7 Investigates.The crash happened in July 2025 in Woods Cross, Utah. Alexia De La Rosa, 17, was driving her first car, a 2019 Hyundai Sonata her mother Tessie had bought for her as a 16th birthday present from an AutoSavvy dealership.“Tessie was told that this car was just as good as new. She was never told that it was repaired with defective, illegal Chinese airbag inflators,' Felix said. 'You essentially get an explosion of jagged metal that is shot at your face and neck at hundreds of miles an hour. It is really the stuff of nightmares. It is a bomb inside your steering wheel.”The lawsuit, filed this week in Utah’s Third Judicial District Court, alleges the vehicle was previously declared a total loss and sold at auction.Attorneys contend that when the deployed driver ’ s-side airbag was replaced, AutoSavvy’s repair process resulted in the installation of “defective, illegal Chinese airbag inflators” manufactured by Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co. .Those parts, federal regulators say, are banned from sale in the United States.According to Felix, the inflator ruptured like a grenade in the crash, striking Alexia in the chest with metal shrapnel.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued an urgent warning in January, saying inflators from DTN were “made in China … likely imported illegally” and installed largely in salvage or rebuilt title cars.Records show NHTSA estimates as many as 10,000 vehicles nationwide could still have these deadly replacement airbags, which have been tied to at least nine deaths and two serious injuries across the U.S. since May of 2023.“This is a national problem,” Felix said. “We’re going to unfortunately see it keep happening and happening and happening. There has to be change in holding people accountable.”Similar inflators were also linked to the 2024 death of a young mother in Florida.“The airbag is supposed to save her life, but it took her life,” a friend of the Florida mother told Scripps News Tampa at the time.Denver7 Investigates found an industry test drive video demonstrating that in even minor crashes, the counterfeit airbags can explode, sending shrapnel through the cabin.This is not the first time Denver7 Investigates has uncovered serious safety concerns involving AutoSavvy's salvage-title vehicles.Charley Darnell, a Colorado woman, found undisclosed damage and substandard repairs — including parts held together with zip ties — and later won a $313,000 arbitration award.In an August interview, AutoSavvy CEO Brett Parham told Denver7 Investigates, “I think we need to take some time to review our triple inspection process and see if there’s anything else that we can do to make it more thorough and more exacting.”For this story, AutoSavvy has not yet responded to requests for comment about the counterfeit airbags or whether any of its Colorado vehicles could be affected.Colorado law makes it a class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly make, sell, or install counterfeit or nonfunctional airbags, or to put any object in place of an airbag that doesn’t meet federal safety standards. Under C.R.S. 6‑1‑710, that’s considered both a criminal offense and a deceptive trade practice.But while the law exists, state agencies acknowledge there is no pre‑sale inspection designed to verify whether a vehicle’s airbags are genuine parts.In Colorado, auto dealers are only required to disclose in writing if a vehicle has a salvage title.The Colorado Auto Industry Division told Denver7 Investigates it does not inspect individual parts like airbags, and they are not on the list of items checked under state law.Once a salvage vehicle is rebuilt, it must pass a certified VIN inspection before it can be registered, but Colorado State Patrol inspectors cannot dismantle steering wheels or dashboards to check airbag components and must rely on repair documents and diagnostic systems.'We cannot go underneath the dash or take apart the steering wheel to verify the part. We’re not mechanics. All we can do is check the documentation the owner provides and see what the vehicle’s diagnostics tell us,' said CSP Sgt. Ivan Alvarado, noting that OEM parts are not required under current law.Alvarado said the issue of counterfeit airbags is now “going up my chain of command,” but any change in inspection standards would have to come from lawmakers or regulators.NHTSA says a standard VIN recall search will not reveal whether your vehicle has a DTN inflator, because these counterfeit parts are installed after the car leaves the factory.Instead, they recommend reviewing your vehicle’s history report for:A salvage or rebuilt titleAny prior crashes in which airbags deployedAny “total loss” eventsRepairs performed at non-certified service centersIf your vehicle’s history shows any of these red flags, especially a past airbag deployment, have your car inspected by a certified technician at the manufacturer’s dealership or a reputable independent mechanic. They can verify whether the inflator is a genuine replacement part, according to NHTSA.Do not try to inspect the airbag yourself. Tampering with the steering wheel or airbag housing could cause it to deploy, resulting in serious injury or death.If a DTN inflator is found, the vehicle should not be driven until it is replaced with genuine parts. NHTSA urges anyone who discovers one to report it immediately to:Local law enforcement The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination CenterNHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888‑327‑4236 or by submitting a complaint onlineTo help consumers and the auto repair industry, NHTSA has created a dedicated online resource page with photos, technical information, and guidelines for identifying these dangerous inflators.Bottom line: If your car has ever been in a crash where the airbags deployed, especially if it’s a salvage or rebuilt title, you could be at risk.Federal safety officials estimate that as many as 10,000 vehicles nationwide may have these counterfeit airbags.'I wouldn't be surprised if there are cars in all 50 states that have these illicit, counterfeit airbag components in them, and that's not to spread rumors or concern, but what we've seen is we have an unknown number of these that have been imported into the country,' said Felix. 'We have fatalities that span at least seven different states. So I would err on the side of caution and assume, if you have a car that you purchase and it was in a prior crash, get it checked out.'
Andrew Parker Felix Autosavvy Chinese Airbags Colorado Investigative News Colorado State Patrol DTN Denver Investigative News Denver Investigations Denver News Investigations
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