Federal auto safety regulators are ramping up efforts to recall roughly 52 million air-bag inflaters over the risk that they could rupture and cause metal debris to explode, creating an injury risk even in relatively minor crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a new filing Tuesday and said it will hold a public hearing on Oct. 5 regarding its initial assessment that inflaters manufactured by Tennessee-based ARC Automotive and its licensee Delphi Automotive Systems are defective.
At least seven people have been injured and one person has been killed in the United States by these rupturing air-bag inflaters produced over 18 years, according to the agency.
The NHTSA first called for a voluntary recall in May, but ARC Automotive refused to comply, instead accusing the regulator of overstepping its authority and calling the ruptures “occasional or isolated failures.”
Here’s what car owners should know ahead of the hearing.