52 million ARC Automotive airbag inflators defective

Home > Industry Analysis > Content

【Summary】NHTSA declares that 52 million ARC Automotive airbag inflators are defective, as they may rupture and release metal debris when the airbag deploys, posing serious injury or death risk. ARC rejects NHTSA's demand for recall, claiming manufacturing anomalies were addressed in subsequent recalls. NHTSA believes that the ruptures are caused by weld slag and warns of more incidents if the inflators are not replaced.

FutureCar Staff Sep 06, 2023 4:15 PM PT

52 million ARC Automotive airbag inflators defective

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), airbag inflators manufactured by ARC, a Tier 2 supplier based in Knoxville, Tennessee, may rupture during deployment, leading to the forceful ejection of metal debris into the vehicle's passenger compartment. This poses a significant risk of serious injury or death to occupants, as stated by NHTSA.

Despite NHTSA's demand for a recall of 67 million defective airbag inflators produced by ARC through January 2018, ARC has rejected the agency's claim. In a public letter, ARC expressed strong disagreement with NHTSA's conclusion, arguing that the ruptures were caused by isolated manufacturing anomalies that were addressed through subsequent recalls by automakers.

NHTSA, however, has pushed back against ARC's claim, asserting that the ruptures may be a result of weld slag produced during the friction welding manufacturing process. The agency explained that if a sufficient amount of weld slag becomes dislodged, it can block the inflator exit orifice, leading to over pressurization and eventual rupture of the inflator. This can result in the forceful propulsion of shrapnel or metal fragments into the passenger compartment.

Since the investigation into ARC began in 2015, several automakers, including BMW, Ford, and Volkswagen, have initiated eight recalls to address potential safety defects with ARC airbag inflators. General Motors recently recalled nearly 1 million vehicles with ARC airbag inflators, including certain models of Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia.

NHTSA's investigation of ARC has identified at least nine incidents of ruptured airbag inflators globally, with seven of them occurring in the United States. These incidents, dating from 2009 to as recently as March, have resulted in seven injuries and two deaths. NHTSA has warned that without a recall and replacement of the defective inflators, additional ruptures are expected to occur in the future, posing an ongoing risk of serious injuries and deaths.