NHTSA steps pressure on manufacturers to issue recall
of ConsumerAffairs
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is stepping up pressure on an airbag inflater manufacturer to issue a recall, saying tens of millions of Americans are at risk.
NHTSA is confirming its initial decision that certain frontal driver and passenger air bag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC,and vehicles in which those inflators were installed, contain a defect related to motor vehicleSafety, the regulator said in a supplemental initial decision.
NHTSA is issuing this supplemental initial decision to address in greater detail the basis for the agencys initial decision and to ensure that all vehicles and manufacturers that would be impacted by any recall order are included within the scope of the initial decision.
Previously, NHTSA pushed for ARC Automotive to recall the airbags, which ARC declined to do. NHTSA will now reopen the case and retake comments for 30 days before deciding whether to pursue a recall.
The issue is similar to the Takata exploding inflators, which resulted in the largest automotive recall in history. NHTSA says the ARC inflators use phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate as a propellant that has been known to result in explosions and send small pieces of metal into occupants.
The inflators have reportedly been used in vehicles from 2000 to 2218, in makes such as Ford, BMW, GM, Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla.
The inflators could be in 51 million vehicles
An estimated 51 million vehicles are equipped with Arc airbag inflators. NHTSA says there have been at least seven injuries or deaths related to the inflators.
While the overall incidence of rupture is rare, these failures can result and have resultedin severe injury or death, NHTSA said. As such, and considering the evidence of problems in the friction welding process, the subject inflators present a defect.
NHTSA has more authority than other federal agencies when it comes to recalls. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act gives NHTSA the authority to issue vehicle safety standards and to require manufacturers to recall vehicles that have safety-related defects or do not meet Federal safety standards.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-08-02 16:24:45
