The NHTSA says that some 67 million cars need a new airbag inflator due to serious safety concerns. According to the administration, it’s at odds with the airbag inflator supplier too. The potential issue spreads across 12 different manufacturers and dozens of models. One of them, General Motors, just opened a new recall for nearly a million vehicles.
The supplier in question is ARC of Tennessee. In 2015, the NHTSA launched an initial investigation into ARC airbag inflators after it learned of two reported injuries associated with them. Since then, it’s received a string of other reports surrounding ARC inflators, some of them proving fatal. Specifically, the NHTSA described the danger with the following statement.
“ARC’s inflator design is such that during a triggered deployment, the stored gas, excited by the propellant, has a single path through the exit orifice to exit the inflator and fill the air bag cushion. Should any debris of sufficient size be in the inflator center support, the exit orifice could become blocked. Blockage of the exit orifice could cause over-pressurization of the air bag inflator. Over pressurization of the inflator has the potential to cause it to rupture resulting in metal fragments being forcefully propelled into the passenger compartment.”
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At the same time, ARC disagrees that there’s a safety concern big enough to warrant a recall of this size. “ARC has not made a defect determination that would require a recall of this population,” NHTSA said in its demand letter to ARC. “Air bag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached airbag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury.”
The administration also mentioned four automakers that have already initiated recalls around this potential safety issue. That includes GM, Ford, BMW, and VW. Notably, the NHTSA agrees that not a single one of these ARC inflators ruptured during the testing of more than 900 airbags in 2018. Despite that, it specifically called out seven separate instances where an occupant experienced serious injury or death after an ARC airbag inflator rupture.
GM Recalls 1 Million Vehicles Anyway
Regardless of which side is technically correct, the announcement was paired with a new recall from GM surrounding 994,763 vehicles with ARC airbag inflators. It includes Buick Enclaves, Chevrolet Traverses, and GMC Acadias from model years 2014-2017. Owners can contact their local dealer or the NHTSA to see if they have an affected vehicle.
