The inflators, potentially imported illegally, had been installed as replacement equipment after vehicles were involved in previous crashes
Washington, D.C.—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced an open investigation into DTN airbag inflators.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has become aware of eight vehicle crashes in which a rupture of a Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co., Ltd. (DTN) air bag inflator occurred during the deployment of the driver side air bag.
All eight drivers in these crashes sustained serious or fatal injuries that appear linked to the ruptures. Six of those drivers sustained fatal injuries and two sustained severe injuries. In all eight incidents, the subject inflators had been installed as replacement equipment after the vehicle was involved in a previous crash.
Information gathered during NHTSA’s initial analysis of these incidents indicates that the inflators were potentially imported illegally into the United States. NHTSA has taken a variety of actions to address the risks posed by the importation of substandard or counterfeit air bag components.
As part of ODI’s continuous monitoring of this issue, the agency has obtained information to suggest that at least eight incidents involve ruptures of inflators manufactured by DTN.
“Fake airbags are notoriously difficult to spot, often appearing nearly identical to genuine, original equipment parts, but in the most tragic cases they can result in catastrophic failures with fatal consequences,” stated the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council, Inc. (A2C2) in a previous Aftermarket Matters article.
The affected vehicles include Chevrolet Malibu and Hyundai Sonata models. However, NHTSA stated the issue is not believed to be specific to those makes.
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