As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seeks to enforce a recall of ARC Automotive’s airbag inflators, several major automakers have voiced opposition to the decision, Reuters reports.
Following an eight-year investigation conducted by NHTSA, the agency reported one death and seven injuries resulting from the airbag inflators, which are capable of rupturing and shooting out metal fragments upon deployment.
If a recall were enforced, it would cover 52 million airbag inflators that are in vehicles produced from 2000 through early 2018 from a dozen different automakers. It would be the second-largest recall in U.S. history.
This past week, several automakers spoke out against the potential recall, which NHTSA has begun taking steps towards legally enforcing after ARC Automotive refused to issue one voluntarily. General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, and Porsche have all issued statements opposing the recall.
GM echoed ARC Automotive’s initial response to the recall proposition, which is that NHTSA’s findings do not demonstrate enough of a threat to warrant such a large recall.
“(NHTSA's) record is devoid of any evidence, let alone credible evidence, that a systemic defect exists,” ARC Automotive reaffirmed in a statement.
ARC has added that, according to NHTSA’s estimated rate of failure, less than one rupture would occur over the next 33 years. But during an October hearing, NHTSA enforcement official Cem Hatipoglu explained that in the rare event the airbags deploy, the consequences could be dire.
