On Tuesday, federal auto safety regulators stated that nearly 52 million airbag systems manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive could be dangerous to drivers and should be recalled after the parts caused two deaths that should have been prevented.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officially announced that airbag inflators from ARC and Delphi are defective after an eight-year examination, which is the first step in the agency’s course of action in forcing both companies to recall the auto parts.
Two people have been killed, one in the United States and another in Canada, by ARC inflator explosions, according to the NHTSA.
The American victim was Marlene Beaudoin, 40, from Michigan. Beaudoin was struck by metal pieces when her 2015 Chevrolet Traverse SUV was involved in a minor crash that took her life in 2021.
The agency also stated that there have been seven additional non-fatal injuries due to the airbag inflators.
According to NHTSA data, the problematic air bag systems are installed in automobiles made by Ford, GM, Stellantis, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen from models made in 2000 to 2018.
“These airbag inflators may rupture when the vehicle’s air bag is commanded to deploy, causing metal debris to be forcefully ejected into the passenger compartment of the vehicle,” the agency wrote in an initial decision document. “A rupturing air bag inflator poses an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to vehicle occupants.”
NHTSA investigators claimed that the issue was generated by the inflators due to a “welding problem” by ARC and Delphi.
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