Federal safety regulators have directed a Tennessee manufacturer to recall air-bag inflaters used in roughly 67 million vehicles over concerns that bits of metal could explode when the air bag is activated, creating an injury risk even in relatively minor crashes.
Seven air-bag ruptures involving injuries led the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to tentatively conclude that the inflaters represented a “defect related to motor vehicle safety.” It then demanded ARC Automotive of Knoxville to issue a recall.
This kind of request typically sparks a recall, experts say. But ARC Automotive refused, instead accusing the regulator of overstepping its authority while denying the central conclusions underpinning the recall request.
Here’s what car owners should know.
Why did regulators want a recall?
The NHTSA called for a recall after an eight-year investigation that included extensive product testing. The inquiry was upgraded after the July 2016 death of one driver, who had been hit in the neck by shrapnel.
ARC Automotive is a niche manufacturer of air-bag inflaters, small metal devices that send compressed gas into an air bag, activating it in the event of a crash.
During the manufacturing process, one part of the inflater is welded onto two pressure vessels. But sometimes excess metal called “weld slag” according to an April 27 letter signed by Stephen Ridella, director of the office of defects investigation at NHTSA. He wrote that the inflater is put together in such a way that debris of sufficient size can block the opening that shoots gas into the air bag, causing pressure to build up.
“Over pressurization of the inflater has the potential to cause it to rupture resulting in metal fragments being forcefully propelled into the passenger compartment,” Ridella wrote.
He identified seven incidents between 2009 and 2023 in which an air bag ruptured and a driver or passenger suffered injuries. One was fatal, and the driver in one incident was “severely injured.”
Why is the company refusing a recall?
Steve Gold, ARC’s vice president for product integrity, wrote in a May 11 response letter that NHTSA’s recall request is too broad, and based on hypothetical scenarios rather than any objective technical or engineering conclusion.
Weld slag has not been confirmed as the root cause in any of the seven incidents NHTSA noted in its recall request, Gold said. He described them as isolated events, not a systemic problem.
“To the extent any root cause could be identified in these ruptures, ARC believes they resulted from random ‘one-off’ manufacturing anomalies that were properly addressed by vehicle manufacturers through lot-specific recalls, all with NHTSA’s approval,” Gold wrote.
He added that the information NHTSA presented in its letter falls far short of the legal standard for a “defect,” and said NHTSA does not actually have the authority to “demand” a recall.
Brian Moody, executive editor of Kelley Blue Book, said the company is probably hoping for a narrowed version of the recall that would be less costly. A recall of this scale could be disastrous for ARC’s business, he said, likening it to the recall of Takata Airbags that drove the Japanese manufacturer into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017.
“With Takata it was the actual piece that was defective, whereas in this case it has to do with how the piece is installed,” Moody said.
Still, “from the consumer perspective it doesn’t matter . . . you still could be hurt,” Moody said. “Metal fragments going through the cabin are a problem no matter where they came from.”
Which autos are affected?
The recall affects air-bag inflaters produced over 18 years, leading up to January 2018. Afterward, the company started installing small borescopes ― tiny cameras used to monitor for possible welding defects ― which appear to have resolved the issue. In its public letter to the manufacturer, NHTSA said it is not aware of any ruptures of an ARC air bag produced after January 2018.
Several automakers opted to carry out their own recalls. The first was a 2017 BMW recall covering six variants of the BMW X5, a midsize sport utility vehicle. Another recall that year affected Ford Mustangs and F150 pickup trucks. General Motors recalled a limited number of Chevrolet Malibu, Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia autos. Volkswagen issued a recall covering various Audi and VW models.
However, there are still roughly 67 million air-bag systems that could be affected, the regulator said in its letter. That would cover a significant portion of the existing autos on the road. At least 12 U.S. automakers have used ARC’s air-bag inflaters, according to a letter published by NHTSA.
What happens next?
Under NHTSA’s process for product recalls, the next step would be for the agency to make an initial decision that the air-bag inflater does represent a safety defect – something it has already decided on a tentative basis. Then, under federal safety laws, NHTSA could require the manufacturer to provide notice of the defect to all dealers, owners and purchasers. That decision would cause the agency to schedule a hearing, allowing the company, the agency, and other parties to display their evidence.
A hearing could be a next step toward legal action against the manufacturer, Moody said. It’s also possible that ARC could convince the agency to narrow its request.
“A public hearing would probably lead to producing evidence that could lead to something that happens in court,” Moody said.