Major automakers like General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor, and Volkswagen, along with two airbag manufacturers, stated on Tuesday that they are against the U.S. auto safety regulator's attempt to mandate the recall of 52 million airbag inflators as no evidence proving the parts from ARC Automotive Inc. are defective. Despite reports of some inflators exploding in crashes, causing injuries or fatalities, NHTSA is pushing for a widespread recall despite ARC's objections that could cost carmakers up to $10 billion.
Forced Recall on Airbags' Rupture Causing Fatalities
Due to the risk of rupturing and causing metal fragments to fly, officials from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) argued that inflators made by airbag manufacturers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive should be recalled. According to NHTSA, the problem is associated with one U.S. death and seven injuries after an eight-year government investigation. If the recall moves forward, it would be the second-largest in U.S. history.
Automakers' Opposition
Automakers and manufacturers argued that the risks related to the problem were very low and questioned the agency's analysis and reasons for calling for a recall. ARC mentioned that according to NHTSA's projected failure rate, there would be fewer than one new rupture in the next 33 years.
The inflators were used in vehicles made by 12 automakers from 2000 to early 2018. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, and Porsche have also submitted statements opposing the recall through the regulator's formal comment process, which NHTSA has not responded to yet.
NHTSA initially requested a voluntary recall in May, but ARC declined. In September, NHTSA made an initial decision stating that the inflators should be recalled, marking the first formal step before it can mandate a force recall.
GM, after recalling 1 million ARC inflators in May due to a rupture causing facial injuries, argued that NHTSA didn't prove the necessity for a massive and unprecedented expansion of the existing ARC inflator recalls that could impact up to 15% of the over 300 million registered motor vehicles in the United States. GM and Stellantis described NHTSA's decision as "unreasonable, unpredictable, and against the law." In October, Reuters reported that over 20 million GM vehicles might be impacted, while Stellantis has over 4.9 million cars with the concerning inflators and has written only one rupture in 2009.
Lacking Reasonable Basis to Recall
Volkswagen stated that NHTSA's initial decision lacked a reasonable basis to recall hundreds of thousands of VW and Audi vehicles. Delphi Automotive, a part of Autoliv, produced around 11 million inflators until 2004 under a licensing agreement with ARC, which manufactured the remaining 41 million. Autoliv opposes a recall, stating that NHTSA hasn't demonstrated that the inflators are defective.
ARC restated its opposition, asserting that NHTSA's record lacks credible evidence of a systemic defect. NHTSA enforcement official Cem Hatipoglu mentioned at the October hearing that while the likelihood of a rupture may be low, the consequences are severe and potentially deadly.
