A Tennessee airbag component maker has refused to recall 67 million devices that could explode and hurl shrapnel at motorists in the event of an accident.
The faulty air bags the parts are used in are installed in a variety of GM cars. They have already caused two deaths and seven injuries in the United States and Canada, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
ARC Automotive in Knoxville could now be heading for a legal battle with US auto safety regulators after they denied a request for a recall of potentially dangerous airbag inflators.
The recall would cover a large portion of the 284 million vehicles currently on US roads, but the percentage is difficult to determine. Some have ARC inflators for the driver and front passenger.
The 67 million airbag inflators that NHTSA wants to recall were all produced during the 18-year period leading up to January 2018, when the ARC installed equipment to help inspect the inflators, according to the company.
A Tennessee airbag maker has refused to recall 67 million devices that could explode and hurl shrapnel at motorists in a crash
The faulty airbags the parts are used in are installed in a variety of GM cars and have already killed two people
The recalled airbags were manufactured by airbag manufacturer Takata, a now-bankrupt Japanese manufacturer, but ARC manufactured an inflation component.
In a letter released on Friday, the agency told the ARC that it had tentatively concluded, after an eight-year investigation, that the ARC’s driver and passenger front inflators had a safety defect.
“Airbag inflators that hurl metal fragments at vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached airbag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury,” said Bureau of Investigation Director Stephen Ridella. on defects from NHTSA. wrote in a letter to ARC.
But ARC replied that there were no faults in its inflators and that any issues were related to isolated manufacturing issues.
“We disagree with NHTSA’s sweeping new request as extensive field testing has found no inherent flaws,” the ARC said in a statement late Friday.
The next step in the process is for NHTSA to schedule a public hearing. Authorities could then sue the company to force a recall.
On Friday, NHTSA released documents showing General Motors was recalling nearly one million vehicles equipped with ARC inflators. The recall affects certain Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs from 2014 to 2017.
The automaker’s recall is separate from the inflator recall that NHTSA asked the ARC to perform.
The automaker says an inflator explosion “may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.”
Owners will be notified by mail starting June 25, but no fix is available yet. They will receive another letter when one is ready.
GM says it will offer “courtesy transportation” on a case-by-case basis to owners who are concerned about driving recalled vehicles.
The company said it is proceeding with the recall, which extends previous actions, “out of an abundance of caution and with the safety of our customers as our highest priority.”
The recalled airbags were originally from airbag manufacturer Takata, a now-bankrupt Japanese manufacturer.
One of the two fatalities was a mother of 10 who was killed in what appeared to be an otherwise minor accident in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the summer of 2021. Police reports show a metal inflator fragment hit his neck in an accident involving a 2015 Chevy Crossing SUV.
At least a dozen automakers are using the allegedly faulty inflators, including Volkswagen, Ford, BMW and GM, NHTSA said.
The agency argues that welding debris from the manufacturing process can block an “exit port” for gas that is released to fill the air bag in the event of a crash.
Any blockage can cause pressure in the inflator, causing it to explode and flying metal fragments, Ridella’s letter states.
But in a response to Ridella dated May 11, ARC Vice President of Product Integrity Steve Gold wrote that NHTSA’s position is not based on any objective engineering or technical conclusion regarding a defect, “but rather conclusive statements regarding the hypothetical blockage of the inflator orifice by “welding slag”.
He wrote that welding debris was not confirmed as the cause of any of the seven inflator failures in the US ARC, saying that only five failed while in use, and that “doesn’t support not conclude that a systemic and widespread defect exists in this population.’
Gold also writes that manufacturers should issue recalls, not equipment manufacturers like ARC. NHTSA’s recall request, he writes, is beyond the agency’s legal authority.
Stephanie Erdman testifies at a Senate committee hearing into Takata airbag defects in Washington DC in November 2014
ARC Vice President of Product Integrity Steve Gold said NHTSA’s position is not based on any objective engineering or technical findings.
In a federal lawsuit filed last year, The plaintiffs alleged that ARC’s inflators use ammonium nitrate as a secondary propellant to inflate the airbags.
The propellant is pressed into tablets which may expand and develop pinholes if exposed to moisture.
According to the lawsuit, the degraded tablets have a larger surface area, causing them to burn too quickly and trigger too large an explosion.
The explosion can detonate a metal canister containing the chemical, sending shards of metal into the cabin. Ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizers and as a cheap explosive, is so dangerous it can burn too quickly even in the absence of moisture, the lawsuit says.
Plaintiffs allege that ARC inflators have failed seven times on U.S. roads and two other times in tests conducted by ARC. There have been five limited recalls of the inflators so far that have totaled approximately 5,000 vehicles, including three recalls by GM.
