More than 67 million airbags inflators can be removed(opens in a new tab) due to safety concerns, following the results of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into alleged safety concerns. The report has prompted the US government agency to urge the manufacturer to issue an immediate recall.
Twitter joins Turkey’s presidential debate, censoring posts ahead of election
“While incidents are rare, the incidents that have occurred have been serious, prompting the agency to issue a takedown request,” NHTSA spokeswoman Veronica Morales wrote. in a sentence(opens in a new tab) Reported by CNN. “NHTSA is taking this action under its authority to investigate potential defects and oversee recalls as required by the Vehicle Safety Act.”
The investigation looked at security bag inflators manufactured by Knoxville, Tennessee’s ARC Automotive, Inc.(opens in a new tab) during an 18-year inspection period prior to January 2018, Engadget reported. The airbag inflators were supplied to six airbag manufacturers, which were then incorporated into vehicles by at least 12 automakers. The agency has yet to pinpoint which automakers, specifically.
The NHTSA investigation was prompted by at least nine cases in which the airbags ruptured violently and ejected metal fragments into the vehicle, resulting in one known death. GM has already issued a million vehicle recall(opens in a new tab) (including 2014-2017 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia) in response to the investigation and an accident involving a ruptured driver’s frontal airbag inflator in one of their vehicles.
But in response to a letter from NHTSA, ARC disputed the agency’s findings and the recall request, writing: “We disagree with NHTSA’s sweeping new request when extensive field testing found no inherent flaws. “. In addition, the company’s vice president of product integrity, Steve Gold, wrote in a response that “the test program demonstrated with 99% confidence and 99% confidence that the inflators in the subject population would deploy without rupturing.” “. the result of “one-off” defects that have already been addressed by their respective automakers.
Other airbag recalls have already rocked the market, following global safety concerns. Since 2016, more than 67 million airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata have been recalled in the United States, with another 100 million worldwide.
