NHTSA Widens Probe of Exploding Airbag Inflators Made by ARC Automotive

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is broadening an investigation it began a year ago into airbag inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc. after confirming a fatality in Canada blamed on an ARC inflator that exploded.

NHTSA’s original probe targeted a population of about 490,000 vehicles, Automotive News reports. The inquiry was prompted by reports of two injuries involving misfiring inflators made by the Knoxville, Tenn.-based supplier. The incidents involved a 2002 model Chrysler Town & Country minivan and a 2004 model Kia Optima midsize sedan.

Now NHTSA says it is broadening its inquiry to include more than 8 million ARC airbag inflators installed in vehicles made by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Motors, Hyundai and Kia. The agency is looking at vehicles made in 2004 or earlier but says it may investigate newer models too.

An ARC inflator uses a combination of high-pressure stored gas and a small amount of ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbag. The hybrid system is significantly different from the design of some 100 million ammonium nitrate-powered Takata Corp. inflators currently being recalled by more than a dozen carmakers worldwide.