US road safety regulators are reportedly preparing to force the recall of more than 51 million airbag inflators, following at least two deaths allegedly caused by faulty units.
Bloomberg reports the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is one step closer to issuing a mandated recall of more than 51 million airbags produced by suppliers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive Systems.
NHTSA announced its recommendation to launch a recall related to the products in May last year, which at the time were reportedly installed in an undisclosed number of vehicles made in the US between 2000 and 2018.
While NHTSA has desired a recall of the airbags from the start, it had to offer ARC and Delphi – whose airbag division is now owned by Sweden’s Autoliv – the opportunity to do so voluntarily.
According to NHTSA, a vent hole in the airbag inflator may prevent gas from escaping at the correct rate when deployed, resulting in a buildup of pressure and a subsequent explosion of metal fragments.
This is different to the circa-100 million airbags made by Japanese firm Takata which were recalled due to degradation of its metal components due to humidity and temperature exposure, though this could result in the same fault.
At least 38 deaths have been attributed to faulty Takata airbags globally, with NHTSA now identifying at least two fatalities between 2009 to March 2023 which involve ruptured airbag inflators from the US manufacturers.
A Takata airbag being replaced in a Mercedes-Benz
According to Bloomberg, NHTSA has provided the interested parties involved in the proposed recall an additional 30 days to comment on its decision to label the airbags as defective.
Though no specific models have been named, carmakers confirmed to use ARC and Delphi as suppliers throughout the 18-year period include General Motors, Stellantis, Volkswagen and Hyundai.
Earlier reports included Ford, Tesla, Toyota, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the list of manufacturers.
It’s not yet known if any Australian-delivered models made in the US were fitted with the potentially deadly airbags.
Approximately 4.1 million cars in Australia were impacted by the Takata recall, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) declaring in late 2022 that devices in affected vehicles had been replaced.
However, this data included vehicles which were written-off, scrapped or unregistered for more than two years.
Earlier this week, BMW Australia recalled more than 60,000 vehicles in Australia after discovering they may “have been converted after production with steering wheel variants containing a faulty Takata inflator”.
