Company refuses to recall 67 million potentially dangerous air bag inflators

• ARC Automotive, LLC has refused to recall potentially dangerous air bag inflators.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded the recall.
• It could affect 67 million air bag inflators.

Company rejects National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demand to recall potentially dangerous air bag inflators. Multiple people have reported injuries.

Despite reports of two fatalities and multiple injuries, ARC Automotive, Inc. has refused to issue a recall. According to The Associated Press, this could lead to a legal battle with US auto safety regulators.

ARC Automotive refuses to recall potentially dangerous air bag inflators

ARC Automotive Inc., located in Knoxville in Tennessee, has refused to recall its air bag inflators. The recall covers 67 million units in the United States, which they say could be a danger to users.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded that the company withdraw the millions of units from the market after multiple people have been injured and two people have been killed.

The air bag inflators could release shrapnel

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration noted that air bag inflators are potentially hazardous because they could explode and release shrapnel.

The accusations come after reports of at least two people dead in the United States and Canada, in addition to seven injuries as a result of ARC Automotive Inc. inflators. According to The Associated Press the recall would cover a large portion of the 284 million vehicles now on US roads, but the percentage is hard to determine.

What investigators found

The agency informed ARC that an investigation concluded that driver and passenger side inflators have a safety defect.

“Air bag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached air bag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury,” Stephen Ridella, director of NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation wrote.

ARC denies there’s a defect in their product

However, the company located in Knoxville Tennessee insists that the inflators manufactured by them do not have any defects. They pointed out that the incidents are linked to isolated manufacturing problems that are not related to the company.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that at least a dozen automakers have the allegedly faulty inflators in use, including Volkswagen, Ford, BMW and GM. However, despite the company’s denial about the defect in the inflators, General Motors is recalling nearly 1 million vehicles equipped with ARC inflators. The recall covers certain Buick Enclave SUVs, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia 2014-2017.