US says 51 million air bag inflators pose safety risk despite automaker objections By Reuters
Written by David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. official said he still believes air bag inflation in the 49 million U.S. vehicles sold by 13 automakers poses a safety risk and is considering phasing them out.
The matter involved one death in the US and seven injuries following an eight-year government investigation. If the recall continues, it will be the second largest in US history.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration argued at a hearing in October that inflators produced by two airbag manufacturers, ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive, should be recalled because they could explode and send pieces of metal into the plane. After automakers raised objections in December, the agency did not immediately finalize its decision.
The agency said Wednesday it was revising its original decision issued in September and giving manufacturers another 30 days to respond before seeking a formal recall.
“Common sense requires recognizing that metal shrapnel that explodes at high velocity and causes injury or death poses a safety risk,” NHTSA said.
Major automakers including General Motors (NYSE:), Toyota Motor (NYSE: ) and Volkswagen (ETR: ) and the two airbag makers in December said they opposed NHTSA's request for a waiver.
GM said Wednesday that it “does not believe that the evidence at this time provides a basis for further recall regardless of the number of vehicles already included in the existing recall.”
Reuters reported in October that at least 20 million GM vehicles may be affected, and Stellantis (NYSE: ) has 4.9 million vehicles with the affected inflators and reported one failure, in 2009.
Stellantis said he is reviewing NHTSA's decision.
Automakers and manufacturers have said the risk from this issue is very small, questioning the agency's analysis and the reason for seeking a recall.
The inflation rates in question were applied to vehicles produced from 2000 to early 2018 by 13 automakers including Jaguar Land Rover, Ford (NYSE:), Mercedes-Benz (OTC:), BMW (ETR:), Hyundai (OTC :), Kia. and Porsche.
NHTSA initially requested a voluntary withdrawal by May 2023, but ARC refused.
GM, which in May 2023 recalled 1 million ARC inflators after an explosion resulted in facial injuries to a driver, said in December that the recall would affect “up to 15% of the more than 300 million registered vehicles in the United States.”
Delphi Automotive, a division of Autoliv (NYSE: ), made about 11 million inflators in 2004 under a license agreement with ARC, which made the remaining 40 million.
