Major US automakers including General Motors, Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, and two airbag makers on Tuesday protested the US auto safety regulator's effort to recall 52 million airbag inflators.
Major US automakers including General Motors, Toyota Motor and Volkswagen, and two airbag makers on Tuesday protested the US auto safety regulator's effort to recall 52 million airbag inflators.
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officials argued at a hearing in October that inflators made by two airbag manufacturers, ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive, should be recalled because they can burst and scatter metal fragments.
The issue, which follows an eight-year government investigation by NHTSA, has been linked to the death of one US citizen and injuries to seven people. If the recall goes ahead, it would be the second largest recall in US history.
Automakers and manufacturers said the risks from the issue are very low and questioned the agency's analysis and the logic of demanding the recall.
ARC said that under the failure rate estimated by NHTSA, less than one new rupture is expected over the next 33 years.
The inflators in question were used in vehicles manufactured from 2000 to early 2018 by 12 automakers. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai, Kia and Porsche also filed statements of opposition under the regulator's formal comment process.
There has been no comment on this matter from NHTSA.
NHTSA first called for a voluntary recall in May, but ARC rejected it. NHTSA issued a preliminary ruling in September that these inflators should be recalled, the first formal step before a forced recall.
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