Safety Advisory: NHTSA Alerting Consumers to Dangers of Counterfeit Air Bags

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Safety Advisory: NHTSA Alerting Consumers to Dangers of Counterfeit Air Bags

NHTSA 42-12
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Contact: Lynda Tran, 202-366-9550

Traffic safety agency urges vehicle owners and repair professionals to use only certified, original equipment replacement parts

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a consumer safety advisory to alert vehicle owners and repair professionals to the dangers of counterfeit air bags. NHTSA has become aware of a problem involving the sale of counterfeit air bags for use as replacement parts in vehicles that have been involved in a crash. While these air bags look nearly identical to certified, original equipment parts—including bearing the insignia and branding of major automakers — NHTSA testing showed consistent malfunctioning ranging from non-deployment of the air bag to the expulsion of metal shrapnel during deployment. NHTSA is not aware of any deaths or injuries connected to counterfeit air bags.
While the full scope and scale of the problem of counterfeit air bags is uncertain from currently available data, NHTSA has identified certain vehicle makes and models for which these air bags may be available and believes this issue affects less than 0.1 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet. Only vehicles which have had an air bag replaced within the past three years by a repair shop that is not part of a new car dealership may be at risk.

Rest of article & List of potentially affected cars:

Safety Advisory: NHTSA Alerting Consumers to Dangers of Counterfeit Air Bags | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

[InvisibleSoul]

LoL, WTF. Better to have no airbag than a counterfeit airbag!

http://jalopnik.com/5950562/watch-a-...ium=socialflow

[belaud]