Automakers Clash With US Regulators To Avoid The Second-Biggest Recall Ever

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While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) strives to prevent another Takata-style disaster, the automotive industry is working to avoid a recall that encompass too broad a range, potentially costing billions.

Automakers argue that there isn’t enough proof to warrant a recall of as many as 52 million airbag inflators produced by ARC Automotive Inc. In letters to the regulator written during an open comment period that closed on Monday, they pointed to the enormous cost that such a measure would incur, and questioned the regulator’s findings.

General Motors wrote that it disagrees with NHTSA’s initial decision that ARC airbags are defective, reports Bloomberg. It said the evidence “falls far short of the agency’s technical and procedural standards, especially in major defects enforcement cases.” It shares its position with other automakers, like Ford, and the airbags’ manufacturer, ARC.

Read: U.S. Regulators Say 52 Million ARC Airbag Inflators Should Be Recalled

However, NHTSA said in May that it had identified at least seven cases of ruptured airbags that led to injury, including two that led to deaths. These incidents date from 2009 to March 2023. It believes that a fault in the welding performed by ARC may have left debris in the inflators. In an accident, that debris could be shot out into the cabin, becoming shrapnel that could — and it argues has — injured the people the airbag was supposed to protect.

If this all reminds you of the Takata recall, you aren’t alone. Mark Rosekind, who oversaw that investigation, described this dispute as “déjà vu all over again.” In that case, more than 100 million inflators were recalled, forcing Takata into bankruptcy, and becoming the largest recall in automotive history.

Similarly, if a recall is demanded, it would be very costly for ARC and for the automakers who used its airbags, among them: GM, Ford, Stellantis, Tesla, VW, Hyundai, BMW, Kia, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Toyota.

In its letter, GM estimated that a recall of ARC products could affect 15 percent of the 300 million registered vehicles on America’s roads. Experts estimate that it could cost the industry as much as $10 billion in all. It has already led to a voluntary recall of one million inflators in GM vehicles.

With the comment period for this issue now complete, NHTSA will make a final decision on whether or not the parts are defective as early as next year. That will be the final step before it either mandates a recall, or drops the investigation.