Faulty inflators were linked to at least two deaths and six injuries.
ARC Automotive, which supplies about one quarter of airbag inflators in the US, has responded to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) questions regarding its allegedly defective airbag inflators that have caused at least two deaths.
The Tennessee-based company once again denied grounds for a recall, setting it on course for a potential showdown in court against safety regulators.
On May 31, the NHTSA directed a special order at ARC, requiring it to answer questions (pdf) under oath regarding its inflators and provide additional documents. The deadline for submission was June 14.
In its answers (pdf), ARC admitted that it has not notified consumers about the potential dangers of its inflators, and that it could not guarantee its products would not rupture in the future.
“Even with appropriate industry standards and efforts by manufacturers to minimize the risks of failures, the manufacturing processes may not completely eliminate the risk of occasional or isolated failures,” ARC said in its response, dated June 14.
The manufacturer also argued that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards do not require the elimination of product failures, but rather “seek[s] to protect the public against unreasonable risks.”
ARC has previously denied that its inflators are defective and refused an NHTSA order in mid-May to recall 67 million of its products.
The order was issued following an eight-year NHTSA investigation, in which regulators found ARC airbag inflators can sometimes rupture, spewing metal fragments into the interior of a car. Regulators determined the defect has led to at least two deaths and six injuries.
As many as 33 million drivers in the US could be at risk due to ARC’s airbag inflator defect, according to an AP report.
GM recalled nearly one million (pdf) vehicles on May 10 that were installed with ARC inflators. Since 2017, companies including BMW, Ford $F, Volkswagen, have also issued recalls due to concerns about the products, according to NHTSA records.
The NHTSA has yet to release a full list of the models that include ARC inflators, which would help drivers determine the potential risks of their own vehicles. According to the Wall Street Journal, as many as 15 brands could be affected, and more than 50 car models could have ARC inflators installed.
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