U.S. regulators took a step toward forcing a recall of as many as 51 million airbag inflators they have said could explode in a crash, an escalation of a safety issue that has plagued the auto industry for years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday issued a ?supplemental initial decision? saying it considers the parts defective after a lengthy comment period and industry pushback. The agency named Knoxville, Tennessee-based ARC Automotive Inc. and the former Delphi Automotive Systems LLC as the manufacturers of the flawed airbags.� Representatives for ARC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
said it?s giving interested parties an 30 additional days to comment on its latest action. The airbags involved have been used by at least a dozen car manufacturers, including General Motors Co., Stellantis NV, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai Motor Co. GM recalled in May almost 1 million vehicles from 2014 to 2017 that are equipped with ARC inflators.
has said it identified at least nine cases of ruptured airbag inflators that led to injuries, including two deaths, dating from 2009 to as recently as March of last year. Delphi Automotive, which no longer exists as an independent company, sold its airbag business to a unit of Sweden?s Autoliv Inc. in 2009.
said it ?has not verified the entity that has legal responsibility? for the Delphi inflators. The situation echoes the sprawling recall of more than 100 million defective airbag inflators made by the now-defunct Takata Corp., which was the biggest auto recall in US history. While the ARC problem appears to be unrelated, the prospect of recalling tens of millions of vehicles to get repairs would be a significant burden on the industry and car owners.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NHTSA launches recall query into 94,000 Jeep Wranglers as loss of motive power complaints continueThe U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating a potential “loss of motive power” in more than 94,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles, after receiving complaints for cars outside the scope of an earlier recall involving an engine shutdown condition in the same SUV model.
Read more »
94,275 Jeep Wrangler 4xe Units Under NHTSA Investigation For Loss Of PowerSome of the vehicles in question already had a recall for a similar issue
Read more »
NHTSA launches recall query into 94,000 Jeep Wranglers as loss of motive power complaints continueThe U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating a potential “loss of motive power” in more than 94,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles, after receiving complaints for cars outside the scope of…
Read more »
NHTSA Warns Consumers To Beware Of Counterfeit Replacement AirbagsI’m a veteran Chicago-based consumer automotive journalist devoted to providing news, views, timely tips and reviews to help maximize your automotive investments. In addition to posting on Forbes.com, I'm a regular contributor to Carfax.com, Motor1.com, MyEV.
Read more »
NHTSA: Here's how to avoid getting a cheap, dangerous, substandard airbag inflatorThe NHTSA recently warned vehicle owners about the threat of counterfeit airbags. Here's how you can avoid getting one in your vehicle.
Read more »
NHTSA Ends Investigation Into Kia’s 3.3-Liter V6 Without Issuing A RecallKia's extended warranty for the affected vehicles and 'reasonable detectability' of any issues have led NHTSA to this decision
Read more »