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Feds Turn Up Pressure on ARC Automotive as Company Refuses to Recall 67 Million Airbag Inflators
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) argued in a special order that the ARC airbag inflator recall is justified because at least 2 people have been killed in the U.S. and Canada, and 7 others injured by the devices, which have been reported to explode without warning, shooting metal debris into the vehicle's cabin. The first airbag explosion occurred in 2009, and the latest was reported in March 2023.
The NHTSA has asked ARC Automotive whether the company expects any of its airbag inflators to blow apart in the future, and if it has warned customers about the airbag risk.
Why Won't ARC Recall its Airbag Inflators?
NHTSA is demanding that ARC recall the inflators, which can blow apart a metal canister. However, ARC is refusing, setting up a possible court fight.
ARC has argued that no safety defect exists, that NHTSA’s demand is based on a hypothesis rather than technical conclusions, and that the agency has no authority to order such a recall.
Following a years-long investigation, NHTSA has tentatively concluded that the inflators are defective. The next steps are a final conclusion, a public hearing, and a potential lawsuit asking a judge to enforce a formal recall.
Related Article: Malfunctioned Airbags Recall Lawsuit Update
Who is at Risk of Defective Airbags?
Since ARC inflators have been installed in both driver and passenger front airbags in at least 33 million U.S. vehicles, nearly anyone could be at risk.
The potentially defective airbags were made in China, Mexico, and Knoxville, Tenn., and were used by at least 12 automakers in models years 2000-2018: Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Maserati, Stellantis, Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen.
Unfortunately, there is currently no easy way for vehicle owners to determine whether their inflators are made by ARC. Neither NHTSA nor ARC has released a full list of affected models.
What Makes ARC Airbag Inflators Defective?
The NHTSA investigation determined that byproducts from welding during manufacturing called a "weld slag," can clog a vent inside the inflator canister allowing gas to escape in order to fill airbags rapidly during a crash. Pressure can build to the point where the canister is blown apart, NHTSA found.
In the order, NHTSA asks ARC to explain if it expects inflators to rupture due to something more than “random ‘one-off’” manufacturing problems. More than 1 million ARC inflators have been recalled already due to what the company describes as isolated trouble with manufacturing.
The order also requests that ARC estimate how many inflators will rupture in the future, and it asks ARC why it changed its inflator manufacturing process in 2018 to install a scope that detects welding slags that can block inflator vents.
Airbag deaths include 40-year-old mom of 10
One of the people who died as the result of an ARC airbag inflator explosion was Marlene Beaudoin, a 40-year-old woman from Michigan who was killed by metal shrapnel when her 2015 Chevrolet Traverse SUV was involved in a minor crash in 2021. She and 4 of her sons had been on their way to get ice cream when the accident happened.
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