Another Airbag Company is the Target of a Massive Investigation
Takata may not be the only airbag manufacturer with faulty products.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is upgrading a probe of over eight-million airbag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. after a driver was killed in Canada last month. The airbag inflator ruptured in a 2009 Hyundai Elantra and Canadian regulators are investigating the possible issue.
The investigation covers inflators used by General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Hyundai and Kia, with at least eight-million inflators used by those automakers through 2004. There is a possibility that the investigation could include newer vehicles.
SEE ALSO: GM Announces New Set of Takata Airbag Recalls
According to NHTSA, ARC Automotive’s inflators are a hybrid design that uses high-pressure stored gas with a small amount of ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbags. The agency’s preliminary investigation shows “significant design differences between the ARC inflators and the Takata inflators currently under recall.”
The investigation was initially opened in July 2015 and involved 490,000 vehicles after two reported injuries involving a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country and a 2004 Kia Optima. Those inflators, produced by ARC, ruptured in Tennessee.
The report noted that the inflator in the fatal accident was assembled in China, and the Elantra sold in the U.S. did not use the Chinese-made inflator. It is however, unclear if any of the Chinese-made inflators were ever sold in U.S. vehicles.
[Source: Automotive News]
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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