US regulators have taken a step toward a recall of as many as 51 million air cushion They say the pumps could explode in the event of a collision, an escalation of a safety problem that has plagued the automotive industry for years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration On Wednesday, the agency issued a “supplemental initial determination” saying it considered the parts defective after a lengthy comment period and industry pushback. The agency named Knoxville, Tennessee-based ARC Automotive Inc. and the former Delphi Automotive Systems LLC as the manufacturers of the defective airbags.
Representatives for ARC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The privately held company has declined to issue a broad recall, even after regulators recommended it in May 2023.
NHTSA said it is giving interested parties an additional 30 days to comment on the latest action. The airbags involved have been used by at least a dozen automakers, including General Motors Co., Stellantis NV, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai Motor Co.GM recalled In May, almost 1 million vehicles from the 2014-2017 period were equipped with ARC pumps.
NHTSA said it has identified at least nine cases of airbag failures that have resulted in injuries, including two deaths, dating from 2009 through March of last year.
Delphi Automotive, which no longer exists as an independent company, sold its airbag business to a unit of Sweden’s Autoliv Inc. in 2009. NHTSA said it has not verified “the entity legally responsible” for the Delphi inflators.
The situation is reminiscent of the extensive recall of more than 100 million defective airbag inflators made by the now-defunct manufacturer. Takata Corp., which was the largest auto recall in U.S. history. While the ARC issue appears to be unrelated, the prospect of recalling tens of millions of vehicles to repairs would be a significant burden on the industry and car owners.