US says 52 million airbag inflators should be recalled over threat of rupture
US auto safety regulators said Tuesday that 52 million airbag inflators produced by auto suppliers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive must be recalled because they can rupture and send dangerous metal fragments flying.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first demanded a voluntary recall in May, but the ARC rejected it. The agency issued an initial decision Tuesday and set a public meeting for Oct. 5 in a rare move to force a recall.
If it manages to force a recall, the recall would be one of the largest ever recorded.
The inflators that NHTSA seeks to recall have been used in vehicles from 2000 through early 2018 produced by 12 automakers, including General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (F.N), Stellantis (STLAM.MI), Tesla (7203 . T), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Hyundai (005380.KS), Kia (000270.KS), Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE).
“Air bag inflators that rupture when commanded to deploy are clearly defective in that they do not protect vehicle occupants as they should and, by themselves, pose an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death,” NHTSA said. on Tuesday.
In May, ARC rejected NHTSA’s provisional conclusion that a defect existed. ARC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
NHTSA said ARC completed in January 2018 the installation of devices on manufacturing lines for inflators used to detect excesses of a hardened byproduct of welding, known as weld slag, or other debris.
The agency said it is not aware of any problems with ARC inflators produced since the installation of the devices. ARC said it had not previously been confirmed that welding slag was the primary cause of the ruptures.
NHTSA said it “believes the evidence identifies probable cause” and added that ARC’s argument of not finding a root cause “is not a reason to delay a recall.”
The agency said it is aware of seven confirmed inflator ruptures in the United States in the vehicles it seeks to recall, including seven injuries and one death.
NHTSA initially said 67 million airbag inflators were unsafe, but on Tuesday adjusted that estimate to account for “overly inclusive responses reported to the agency by certain manufacturers during the course of the investigation.”
In May, GM agreed to recall nearly 1 million vehicles with ARC airbag inflators after a rupture in March led to facial injuries to a driver.
Delphi Automotive, acquired by Autoliv (ALV.N), manufactured approximately 11 million inflators through 2004 under a license agreement with ARC, which manufactured the remaining 41 million inflators. Autoliv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NHTSA has been examining airbag inflator ruptures for more than 15 years. Over the past decade, more than 67 million Takata airbag inflators have been recalled in the United States and more than 100 million worldwide, the largest automotive safety recall on record.
More than 30 deaths worldwide – including 26 deaths in the United States – and hundreds of injuries in vehicles from various automakers since 2009 are linked to Takata airbag inflators that can explode, releasing metal shrapnel inside cars. and trucks. The latest death occurred in May and was related to a Takata bag on the passenger side.
source- Reuter