“To every used-car buyer, vehicle owner, and independent repair facility: vigilance is critical,” warns NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison
Arlington, Va.—NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison spoke last month about the urgent need to eradicate illegal, unvetted vehicle components from online storefronts and supply chains during the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council, Inc. forum at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Arlington.
“Counterfeit automotive parts do not merely constitute intellectual property violations and financial parasites—they can pose a direct, physical threat to human life,” he said.
NHTSA recently took action on counterfeit Chinese air bag inflators marked with the identifier “DTN60DB,” which Morrison stated pose a “direct, lethal risk.” Instead of inflating an air bag in a crash to protect the driver from injury, the components explode upon deployment, propelling sharp metal fragments into drivers. They have been tied to 11 deaths and multiple severe, life-altering injuries across the U.S. in crashes that should have been completely survivable.
He said that while there’s a Chinese air bag inflator manufacturer called DTN, it denies they made those parts. However, for the first time in more than 20 years, NHTSA issued a formal Final Decision and equipment ban against an aftermarket component.
“The units were never installed as original factory equipment by vehicle manufacturers, or sold through normal commerce channels as replacement equipment,” Morrison stated. “Instead, they were illegally imported into the U.S. and distributed through unverified, unauthorized aftermarket channels and installed during post-collision repairs, salvage rebuilds, or as cheap replacements for stolen air bag modules.
As a response, he said NHTSA has deployed a four-pronged strategy:
1. NHTSA is working with its Federal partners such as Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and the USDOT’s Inspector General, to stop the inflators at borders. This effort has resulted in the discovery of smuggling tactics where illicit air bag components were concealed inside everyday cargo, including toys and dollhouses, to bypass customs scrutiny.
2. NHTSA is pursuing the bad actors who sell and install these deadly devices. It is assisting law enforcement partners in the investigation and prosecution of individuals involved in importing or distributing counterfeit automotive equipment. Importing or selling these defective devices is now illegal under federal law, and anyone engaging in these practices could face legal consequences.
3. NHTSA is aggressively working with e-commerce platforms, online marketplaces, and the salvage yard industry to eliminate sales channels. Morrison noted that NHTSA investigators have traced seller listings on major online platforms, requesting account details to identify distributors and reverse-engineer the distribution pipeline. “We were delighted when Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, Alibaba, and, more recently, Ebay stopped selling air bag inflators and modules on their platforms.”
4. NHTSA is conducting a nationwide public education campaign to inform used-car buyers, mechanics and body shops. This has included industry and consumer alerts, a webpage, media interviews, and communications through the automotive trade associations. And CarFax has provided a VIN lookup tool on their website to help recent used car purchasers determine whether their vehicle had an air bag replacement.
“We are issuing an urgent call to action across the automotive and technology sectors,” Morrison stated. “We challenge online vendors, e-commerce platforms, collision repair networks, and automotive industry groups to join forces in collaboration.
“To every used-car buyer, vehicle owner, and independent repair facility: vigilance is critical.”
Read the full transcript of Morrison’s address here.
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