Photo: Chevrolet / edited
Takata's deadly airbag inflators are still featured in millions of vehicles globally, but alas, culpable negligence is a recurring theme in this industry. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demands automotive safety systems supplier ARC Automotive recall 67 million inflators due to a high risk of inflator rupture, which may result in metal fragments injuring the driver and passengers.
Founded in 1949 as Atlantic Research Corporation, the supplier denied the federal watchdog's request. As per Automotive News, defective airbag inflators equip a variety of vehicles from General Motors, the Stellantis group (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA), BMW, Hyundai, and sister brand Kia. Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that only General Motors heeded the NHTSA's call to replace suspect inflators ASAP.
This isn't the first GM recall of ARC Automotive driver airbag inflators, though. Back in 2022, the biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit called back 2,687 units of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, technically similar GMC Acadia, and badge-engineered Buick Enclave.
General Motors issued a mammoth recall today, comprising almost one million vehicles from the 2014 through 2017 model years. The previous-gen Traverse, Acadia, and Enclave are called back to the tune of 994,763 units produced between March 26, 2013 and May 12, 2017 in Spring Hill, TN and Lansing, MI.
The report attached below includes a chronology section, which starts off with the allegation of a ruptured airbag inflator involving a 2017 model year Chevrolet Traverse. Both General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspected the crossover last month, confirming the alleged issue.
GM's safety boffins are currently aware of two prior airbag inflator ruptures (from September 2021 and February 2022) involving 2015 model year Chevrolet Traverse vehicles. All three crossovers featured the very same airbag module, which ARC refers to as MC.
General Motors hired a third-party engineering firm in 2022 to assist the Detroit-based automaker in its investigation of said ruptures. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the root cause of these ruptures isn't known yet. As per an Office of Defects Investigation preliminary evaluation from 2016, suspect inflators fill the airbag with an inert gas mixture augmented by ammonium nitrate-based propellant. Both the gas mixture and ammonium nitrate propellant are stored in a steel housing, which sounds eerily familiar because Takata used ammonium nitrate propellant as well.
Ammonium nitrate – which is widely used as fertilizer – breaks down over time. If heated, it decomposes into nitrous oxide, oxygen, and water vapor. Old ammonium nitrate-based propellant may detonate uncontrollably upon airbag deployment, thus causing the steel housing to explode rather violently.
Whatever the root cause may be, there's no denying that General Motors did the right thing by recalling nearly a million crossovers while ARC Automotive keeps denying responsibility for these deadly inflators. Affected owners will be informed by first-class mail on June 26 to bring their cars in for a replacement driver airbag module. General Motors didn't say which supplier manufactured these replacement inflators, but did mention that replacement inflators were manufactured outside of the suspect time period.
This isn't the first GM recall of ARC Automotive driver airbag inflators, though. Back in 2022, the biggest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit called back 2,687 units of the 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, technically similar GMC Acadia, and badge-engineered Buick Enclave.
General Motors issued a mammoth recall today, comprising almost one million vehicles from the 2014 through 2017 model years. The previous-gen Traverse, Acadia, and Enclave are called back to the tune of 994,763 units produced between March 26, 2013 and May 12, 2017 in Spring Hill, TN and Lansing, MI.
The report attached below includes a chronology section, which starts off with the allegation of a ruptured airbag inflator involving a 2017 model year Chevrolet Traverse. Both General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inspected the crossover last month, confirming the alleged issue.
GM's safety boffins are currently aware of two prior airbag inflator ruptures (from September 2021 and February 2022) involving 2015 model year Chevrolet Traverse vehicles. All three crossovers featured the very same airbag module, which ARC refers to as MC.
General Motors hired a third-party engineering firm in 2022 to assist the Detroit-based automaker in its investigation of said ruptures. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the root cause of these ruptures isn't known yet. As per an Office of Defects Investigation preliminary evaluation from 2016, suspect inflators fill the airbag with an inert gas mixture augmented by ammonium nitrate-based propellant. Both the gas mixture and ammonium nitrate propellant are stored in a steel housing, which sounds eerily familiar because Takata used ammonium nitrate propellant as well.
Ammonium nitrate – which is widely used as fertilizer – breaks down over time. If heated, it decomposes into nitrous oxide, oxygen, and water vapor. Old ammonium nitrate-based propellant may detonate uncontrollably upon airbag deployment, thus causing the steel housing to explode rather violently.
Whatever the root cause may be, there's no denying that General Motors did the right thing by recalling nearly a million crossovers while ARC Automotive keeps denying responsibility for these deadly inflators. Affected owners will be informed by first-class mail on June 26 to bring their cars in for a replacement driver airbag module. General Motors didn't say which supplier manufactured these replacement inflators, but did mention that replacement inflators were manufactured outside of the suspect time period.
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