Another airbag crisis could be just around the corner and it has nothing to do with Takata Motor Corp., as it is centered around ARC Automotive Inc.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is already looking into more than 8 million airbag inflators supplied by the company that was founded in 1949 and has global manufacturing operations.
According to AutomotiveNews, the decision follows an initial inquiry of 490,000 airbags in mid-2015, when two injuries were reported, and comes after a Canadian driver was killed by an airbag inflator in his 2009 Hyundai Elantra. This part was assembled in China; the feds, however, note that it is not clear yet whether the parts made in the People’s Republic were sold in the United States, too.
Apart from Hyundai, the defective airbag inflators that could explode with excessive force and send shrapnel towards the occupants are also found in Kia, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors vehicles, but all automakers are cooperating with the investigation. As for the defective parts, these have a different design over the ones made by Takata, but use the same ammonium nitrate propellant, which has been avoided by other manufacturers.
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