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A safety device is supposed to be the last line of defense. In this case, it may have been the thing that killed.
U.S. regulators are now moving to ban certain Chinese-made airbag inflators after linking them to 12 ruptures, 10 deaths, and two serious injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the parts, manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co., Ltd. (DTN), may have been imported into the United States by unknown parties, likely outside legal channels.
The agency’s initial finding is only the first step, but it matters. It opens a public comment period and gives DTN a chance to challenge the allegations. After that, NHTSA will decide whether to impose a permanent sales ban that could cover both loose inflators and units already installed in airbags.
What makes the case especially alarming is the way these inflators are said to fail. According to the government, they can rupture violently and throw metal fragments into a driver’s chest, neck, eyes, and face. That is not a recall problem in the usual sense. That is a weapon hidden inside a steering wheel.
The investigation has been running since last October, and officials still do not know how many of these parts may have entered the country. So far, every known incident has involved either a Chevrolet Malibu or a Hyundai Sonata, though regulators believe the danger may extend beyond those models.
There is also a troubling pattern behind the scenes. Many of the vehicles tied to the incidents reportedly had salvage or rebuilt titles, which raises the possibility that repair shops were sourcing cheap replacement airbags without knowing, or perhaps ignoring, where they came from. Either way, the outcome has been devastating. Regulators have said some drivers were killed in crashes that should have been survivable.
If you own a used vehicle, the hard part is this: you may not know what kind of inflator is inside your car. NHTSA is urging owners to check vehicle history reports and look closely at any crash history. If the car was in an accident and an airbag deployed since 2020, it should be inspected immediately to confirm the replacement airbag is legitimate and equivalent to the original.
If a DTN inflator is discovered, the vehicle should not be driven until the part has been replaced. Officials are also encouraging people to report suspected cases to their local FBI field office.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not soften the message, saying the investigation has uncovered a disturbing pattern of illegal Chinese airbags entering auto shops and putting American families at risk. That assessment is now echoed by the lawsuits already filed in connection with the deaths.
Morgan & Morgan attorney Andrew Parker Felix, who is handling three of those cases, called NHTSA’s move a critical first step toward stopping counterfeit safety devices from reaching vehicles in the first place. He said that in every case his firm reviewed, the crash should have been survivable. Instead, he argued, the inflator allegedly behaved like a grenade, turning a life-saving system into a death sentence.
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