In 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation of airbag inflators designed by ARC Automotive, Inc. following the rupture of two drivers’ airbags. The eight-year investigation recorded similar incidents in 2014, 2017, 2021, and 2023. The NHTSA now demands ARC Automotive immediately begin a safety recall of 67 million inflators.
According to PBS News Hour, more than 33 million Americans may be at risk. However, the ongoing dispute between the NHTSA and the manufacturer has kept many drivers in the dark. The NHTSA argues that faulty airbags can explode and eject dangerous shrapnel posing a dangerous threat to drivers and passengers. The explosions that began in 2009 have killed two individuals in the United States and Canada and injured seven others according to reports by the NHTSA. The cause of the explosions, as noted by the NHTSA, is due to a welding error in the manufacturing process that creates a clog in a vent, which causes the airbag to fill too quickly.
ARC Automotive, Inc. maintains that they have found no evidence to indicate any defect common to the 67 million airbag inflators and have found no root cause as to why the airbags would explode. In a letter to the NHTSA, ARC writes, “ARC believes they resulted from random ‘one-off’ manufacturing anomalies that were properly addressed by vehicle manufacturers through lot-specific recalls.”
Which vehicles are affected by the NHTSA recall demand?
This month, General Motors issued a voluntary recall of almost one million Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC SUVs citing faulty airbag inflators. Each vehicle had a front-driver airbag module with an ARC inflator installed as part of its original equipment. The following models were included in the recall:
- 2014-2017 Buick Enclave – 244,304 SUVs
- 2014-2017 Chevrolet Traverse – 457,316 SUVs
- 2014-2017 GMC Acadia – 293,143 SUVs
The NHTSA has stated millions more should be recalled, though no official list has been released. The following vehicles were involved in previous NHTSA recalls between March 2017 and July 2022:
- 2015 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse – 2,687 vehicles
- Various 2016 Audi and Volkswagen – 1,216 vehicles
- 2010-2011 Chevrolet Malibu – 1,145 vehicles
- 2017 Ford Mustang and F-150 Pickup – 650 vehicles
- 2008-2017 Buick Enclave and 2013-2017 Chevrolet Traverse – 555 vehicles
- General Motors (driver airbag service replacement parts) – 74 vehicles
- 2017 BMW X5 sDrive35i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive50i, X5 xDrive35d and X5 xDrive40e – 36 vehicles
Owners of other vehicles remain unaware as to whether or not their car may be fitted with ARC airbag inflators, including different models from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Ford, Toyota, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Hyundai, and Kia. As of the date of this post, no full list of affected models has been released. The standoff between the NHTSA and ARC Automotive has also caused automakers to question whether they should begin recalling certain vehicles.
What happens next?
If ARC Automotive does not initiate a voluntary recall of their airbag inflators, the NHTSA may schedule a public hearing or take the airbag inflator manufacturer to court. As of the writing of this post, no decision has been made by the NHTSA or ARC Automotive.
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Sources:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2016/INRM-EA16003-90615.pdf
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/05/15/nhtsa-arc-air-bag-inflator-recall/70217817007/
