An investigation into counterfeit airbags is underway after they were linked to 5 deaths within the US, where authorities have warned they’re a “direct threat to public safety” and their fitment is a federal crime.
In keeping with Carscoops, troublesome airbag inflator systems are being imported from China, and panel beaters and repair centres are sometimes unaware they’re being supplied with a counterfeit product.
These ‘fake’ components appear just like real versions but are as much as 10 times cheaper, in response to a US report.
“These fakes are sometimes constructed with poor-quality materials and usually tend to fail because they’re only imitations of the engineering that goes into the actual product,” Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council president Bob Stewart told The Wall Street Journal.
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The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a probe into the counterfeit airbags after they were linked to seven incidents and five fatalities.
There are not any reports of any such occurrences thus far in Australia, where the last significant airbag controversy was the worldwide recall of greater than 100 million vehicles fitted with defective airbags supplied by Japanese firm Takata.
The Takata tragedy has been linked with a minimum of 40 deaths globally, including a minimum of one in Australia where three million cars were affected, and the issue continues to be claiming lives because the first reported death in 2009.
The newest counterfeit airbag inflators are linked to Chinese company Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology, often called DTN Airbag, whose products are banned from sale within the US.
An announcement on the DTN Airbag website reads: “We don’t do business with america, and any of our products are prohibited from being sold to america.
“Gas generators are dangerous. You should undergo rigorous experiments and tests before use and installation.”
The primary incident occurred in 2022, when 22-year-old Florida woman Destiny Byassee was killed after metal and plastic fragments, allegedly from a counterfeit airbag, lodged in her neck after the airbag exploded.
“My message to the auto repair industry is evident: whoever is bringing this faulty Chinese equipment into the country and installing them is putting American families in peril and committing a serious crime,” said US transportation secretary Sean Duffy, as cited by Carscoops.
Australia’s Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) funded a ‘Real is Best’ campaign over 2015-2022, and has worked with Australian Border Force to forestall the distribution of counterfeit auto parts here.
The FCAI has also urged consumers to push repairers to make sure original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supplied alternative parts are fitted to their vehicles – or a minimum of be given the selection of where the components are sourced from.
“The message to insurers and repairers is crystal clear. For those who’re planning to suit anything aside from the tested and proven real part, Aussies demand the fitting to be notified,” said FCAI chief executive Tony Weber in a press release in 2022.
“Putting the security and quality concerns aside, we all know vehicles repaired and maintained with real parts, accessories and dealer servicing are valued more highly.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
