Rush hour traffic passes through Washington, U.S., December 20, 2016. Portal/Joshua Roberts/File Photo ACKNOWLEDGE RIGHTS
WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Portal) – U.S. automotive safety regulators said on Tuesday that 52 million airbag inflators from auto suppliers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive must be recalled because they could rupture and send dangerous metal fragments flying.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first requested a voluntary recall in May, but ARC rejected it. The agency issued an initial decision Tuesday and scheduled a public meeting for Oct. 5, a rare move to force a recall.
If successful in forcing a recall, the recall would be one of the largest ever recorded.
The inflators NHTSA wants recalled were used in vehicles from 2000 to early 2018 manufactured by 12 automakers, including General Motors (GM.N), Ford Motor (FN), 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 they are supposed to deploy are clearly defective because they do not protect vehicle occupants as intended and themselves pose a disproportionate risk of serious injury or death,” NHTSA said Tuesday.
ARC in May rejected NHTSA’s preliminary conclusion that a deficiency existed. ARC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
According to NHTSA, in January 2018, ARC completed the installation of equipment on inflator production lines designed to detect excesses of a cured weld byproduct of known weld slag or other deposits.
The agency said it is not aware of any problems with ARC inflators manufactured since the equipment was installed. ARC said it had not previously been confirmed that weld slag was the cause of the fractures.
NHTSA said it “believes the evidence identifies probable cause,” adding that ARC’s argument for not finding a root cause is “not a reason to delay a recall.”
The agency said it is aware of seven confirmed gas generator ruptures in the United States in the vehicles it is said to have recalled, including seven injuries and one death.
NHTSA originally said 67 million airbag inflators were unsafe, but on Tuesday it adjusted that estimate to account for “excessive responses reported to the agency by certain manufacturers during the course of the investigation.”
GM agreed in May to recall nearly a million vehicles with ARC airbag inflators after a rupture in March left a driver with facial injuries.
Delphi Automotive, acquired by Autoliv (ALV.N), manufactured about 11 million of the inflators through 2004 under a licensing agreement with ARC, which manufactured the remaining 41 million inflators. Autoliv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NHTSA has been investigating 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 auto 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 have been linked to Takata airbag inflators, which can explode and release metal fragments into cars and trucks. The most recent death occurred in May in connection with a Takata passenger bag.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Edited by Jonathan Oatis, Leslie Adler and Timothy Gardner
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