Fake airbags putting US drivers at risk

Date: 11/10/2012

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States has warned that thousands of drivers could be at risk due to counterfeit airbags being installed in their cars.

Anyone who has had their airbags replaced in the last three years could be affected, according to road safety watchdogs.

The extent of the problem is not yet clear but it is possible that tens of thousands of motorists are driving around with airbags that will not save their lives in the event of an accident.

Testing by the agency has found that some of the airbags do not inflate at all, while others fail to inflate completely.

One of the airbags, which are thought to have been manufactured in China, fired shards of plastic at the driver on impact.

Car owners that are concerned about the issue are being advised to consult a government website or call their manufacturer or dealer in order to ascertain if their vehicle has been fitted with such an airbag.

So far there have been no deaths or injuries specifically linked to the counterfeit airbags, but it is unclear whether accident investigators would be able to tell the difference between them and genuine airbags.

A draft list has been compiled of the vehicle models in which the airbags may have been fitted, but the agency has said it expects this list to evolve as more information becomes available.

Cars on the list that have had their airbags replaced in the course of the last three years at a garage as opposed to a new car dealer need to be checked.

This can be done by taking them to the manufacturer's main dealership where they should be able to tell the difference.

The counterfeit bags still have a manufacturer's logo on them, making it hard to tell them apart from genuine ones.

As dealers are normally tied down by franchise agreements, meaning that they must buy spare parts directly from the car makers, they are unlikely to have received any of the counterfeit bags.

Body shops are more likely to have come across the counterfeits having been sold them as the genuine article.

Posted by Sarah Bailey

Transport Research News and Vehicle Safety News