Have you ever received ultra-annoying telephone contacts about airbag recalls? Are they truly hoaxes? While I personally will not entertain those not-so crispy critters myself with the benefit of a response, I will leave how individuals choose to reply to them up to that person.

There apparently is an ongoing dispute concerning airbags in which some thirty million American drivers may be at a potential danger. Allegedly, only a few of these vehicle operators are even aware of this risk.

In a much ballyhooed game of "No It Isn't" the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has demanded the ARC Automotive Company of Knoxville, Tennesse recall 67 million airbag inflators. These apparatuses are rumored by the automobile industry watchdog to be able to explode with enough force to blow metal containers apart and expel shrapnel doing so.

For their part of this who-has-the-responsibility-for-this-recall contest, ARC has refused to conduct the recall. Because of the company's uncooperativeness, a possible court of law battle with the NHTSA looms.

The NHTSA justified the recall since two cases of people being killed in collisions involving them have been documented, as have seven instances of drivers being injured. The explosions first happened in 2009 and potentially could continue to this day. The NHTSA's investigation about these airbags has spanned at least an eight year period.

Their documentation reflected ARC had made the airbag inflators from about the 2002 model year vehicles to at least January 2018. It was then ARC installed equipment on the company's lines of manufacturing to detect this potential safety problem.

The case in point cited by the NHTSA involved Marlene Beaudoin. She was a mother of ten children who lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She was struck by metal fragments when her 2015 SUV, a Chevrolet Traverse, was involved in a minor crash about two years ago in 2021. On a family outing to get ice cream, four of her sons were in the SUV with her. They were not harmed. Are two fatalities enough for the NHTSA to persist in their efforts to mandate this recall? If not, how many deaths will be required before the recall occurs?

ARC insisted the NHTSA's demand for this airbag recall is not based on any technical conclusion, but a hypothesis. ARC also stated the NHTSA has no legal authority to order a parts manufacturer to conduct recalls. Additionally, ARC contended recalls are the responsibilities of automobile makers.

Going so far as to send the NHTSA a letter that claimed no automakers have found any originating defects common to the 67 million inflators the company has manufactured over the years, ARC also said in that letter no contingent problem had been noted in the ruptures of their inflators.

The ARC letter further elaborated the ruptures involving their inflators were what the manufacturer referred to as unrepeatable irregularities properly addressed by automobile makers through specific recalls.

The NHTSA's response to the letter received from ARC was that both ARC and car builders are liable for this recall. The NHTSA also said it does possess the authority to seek recalls from parts makers.
Though they did not inform when, or even if, any actions would be taken to enforce ARC to conduct this debated airbag recall, the next steps for the NHTSA to consider include:

-issue a final ruling on whether they find the ARC airbag inflators defective
-hold a public hearing about the matter
-take ARC to court to seek an order for the recall

Where does all this interaction leave multiple brands of Buick, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Stellantis, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Kia, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Porsche car owners? Perhaps to ponder if their cars contain front passenger, driver, or maybe both sides, airbag inflators as some vehicles do.

Another issue included ARC inflators could be discovered in other manufacturers' airbags. This factor makes it all the more difficult for car owners to determine if the inflators found in their vehicle's airbags were built by ARC. A third bafflement is no automobile manufacturer, ARC, or the NHTSA have released a comprehensive list of car models subject to being affected by a potential ARC airbag inflator recall.

Because of the NHTSA and ARC detachment over the possible recall, automakers appeared to struggle to learn how many of their vehicles acquired ARC airbag inflators. Knowing some of their models affected by the ARC airbag inflators, car makers have begun asking the NHTSA whether or not they have to start conducting recalls.

The costs for ARC associated with this recall could be prohibitive. Is this just another situation where a federal regulator simply over-reached? So often they are known to commit that very infraction. Because of the dispute between the two entities the result of this conflict is likely not to be resolved any time soon. There you have the scoop.

You didn't ask...but.