Transport Department investigating dangerous airbag part used in Australian vehicles

An airbag part that can explode and spray metal shrapnel is being used in Australian cars, prompting an urgent probe after two deaths and a massive recall overseas.

Exclusive: Australian authorities are scrambling to investigate an airbag part that can explode and spray passengers with metal shrapnel, killing two people overseas and prompting a huge recall in the US.

The two deaths are among seven frightening incidents reported in the US involving the airbag inflator manufactured by ARC Automotive, which is used in almost a quarter of the cars on American roads.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month ordered the recall of 67 million inflators used in vehicles sold by at least 12 manufacturers including Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia.

It can be revealed that the same potentially deadly component is in vehicles on Australian roads, although the federal regulator would not say how many motorists were affected.

In a statement, the Transport Department said ARC inflators were “fitted to a number of vehicles provided to the Australian market”.

“The department is conducting inquiries with vehicle suppliers to identify affected vehicles, with supplier responses to be considered as we determine next steps,” a departmental spokesman said.

General Motors recalled almost one million SUVs which contained the defective airbag inflator, including the Chevrolet Traverse that was involved in four incidents. Picture: Supplied

“At this stage, no recall notices have been issued in Australia in relation to the latest ARC airbag inflator investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”

The US agency demanded ARC recall the inflator after it “tentatively concluded” through an eight-year investigation that the part posed a safety risk when airbags deployed.

Office of Defects Investigation director Stephen Ridella said: “Airbag inflators that project metal fragments into vehicle occupants, rather than properly inflating the attached airbag, create an unreasonable risk of death and injury.”

Investigators blamed a manufacturing flaw in the way the device was welded for the defect, as they outlined serious incidents including two deaths, in Canada in 2016 and in the US in 2021.

Seven separate recalls had already been enforced for about 6400 vehicles by BMW, Ford, Volkswagen and General Motors, before GM this month moved to pull almost one million SUVs off the road.

Office of Defects Investigation director Stephen Ridella ordered the US recall this month. Picture: Supplied

But ARC refused the recall request, sparking what is set to be a lengthy legal battle.

The Tennessee company’s product integrity vice president Steve Gold said there was “no inherent defect” in the inflator and blamed “random one-off manufacturing anomalies” for the reported incidents.

He said none of the 918 inflators tested in partnership with the safety regulator had ruptured, and that GM’s recall was “out of an abundance of caution” given four of its customers had been the victim of an exploding inflator.

ARC Automotive – along with Ford, Volkswagen and GM – was already the subject of a class action launched by vehicle owners last year.

“You could have a ticking time bomb in your lap and you’ve got no way of knowing,” lawyer Frank Melton told the Associated Press.

A Wall Street Journal investigation this month identified the inflator in at least 50 vehicles manufactured by 15 car brands, a list that also included Audi, BMW, Mini and Cadillac.

The Australian Transport Department said it would engage with its American counterparts “as appropriate” as it determined what action to take.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was previously in charge of vehicle safety recalls and oversaw the recall of more than three million vehicles which had Takata airbags that were blamed for at least 33 deaths and 350 serious injuries worldwide.

Originally published as Transport Department investigating dangerous airbag part used in Australian vehicles