Safety regulators have begun investigating another manufacturer over an airbag problem which could cause them to explode and spray shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says ARC Automotive Inc. made air bag inflators in some older Fiat Chrysler and Kia vehicles that potentially could malfunction.
The NHTSA said it opened the investigation on Monday of ARC airbag inflators installed on 490,000 vehicles: 420,000 model year 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivans and 70,000 model-year 2004 Kia Optima vehicles.
The safety agency said it received two complaints involving ARC inflators, the first in December about a 2009 incident and the second in June.
The inflator in the bags in both incidents was made by ARC, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. ODI’s investigation is, at this point, ongoing and seeks to collect all known facts from the involved suppliers and vehicle manufacturers.
The NHTSA said there were two known injuries related to the incidents, but no known fatalities.
Brauer’s colleague and fellow KBB analyst, Akshay Anand, hopes that the NHTSA investigation doesn’t reveal a more serious underlying problem.
A preliminary analysis of the inflator used in the Chrysler minivan showed that the exhaust path for the inflation gas mixture might have been blocked “by an object of indeterminate origin”, the NHTSA said.
This product image provided by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles shows a…
“Amidst the saga of Takata airbags, we can only hope the investigation into ARC doesn’t yield much”, Anand said. The inflators use an inert gas to fill the air bag which is supplemented by an ammonium nitrate-based propellant.
Delphi said in a statement that it will respond to any NHTSA inquiries in the investigation.
In the Takata cases, ammonium nitrate is the main propellant, and it can become unstable over time when exposed to high humidity and temperatures. Automakers, NHTSA and Takata are trying to find the exact cause. A man complained to NHTSA that his wife was hurt by shrapnel when the air bag deployed after the van collided with a snowmobile. “If it hadn’t been for a great ambulance crew, she would have bled to death”.
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ARC makes inflators used by other auto parts makers in airbag modules that are then sold to carmakers.
