Stellantis and 11 other auto-makers may be forced to recall 52 million vehicles with ARC airbag inflators that can explode and eject deadly metal shrapnel.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Stellantis airbag induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured or died when an airbag exploded or failed to deploy, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Safety Warning for 52 Million Airbag Inflators
Stellantis and 11 other auto-makers may be forced to recall vehicles equipped with airbag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive.
Does My Car Have a Dangerous Airbag?
About 52 million airbag inflators were manufactured by ARC and Delphi between 2000 and January 2018, but there is not yet a complete list of vehicle makes and models that could be recalled.
What is the Problem?
Safety officials determined that these airbag inflators are dangerously defective because they can rupture and eject metal shrapnel through the airbag, causing severe injury or death to people inside the vehicle.
NHTSA Working to Force Airbag Recall
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking to force a recall for these airbag inflators, but the manufacturer, ARC Automotive, insists that they are not defective and any problems are linked to “isolated” manufacturing problems.
Even so, ARC Automotive updated their manufacturing process in January 2018. No airbag inflators made since January 2018 have ruptured or caused severe injuries or deaths, according to the NHTSA.
How Many People Have Died?
Airbag inflators made by ARC and Delphi have been linked to 2 deaths and 7 injuries in the U.S. and Canada since 2009. One of the deaths was a mother in Michigan who died in 2021. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The other death was a person in Canada who died in 2016 when an ARC airbag exploded after a minor low-speed collision while the driver was turning into a driveway.
Safety Officials Hold Public Meeting to Discuss Defective Airbags
The NHTSA is holding a public meeting in October 2023 to discuss its initial conclusions about the airbags, which is a mandatory step before forcing a recall.
Why Do These Airbags Explode?
Airbags inflate when they are rapidly filled up with gases that come from an airbag inflator. The inflator is a metal canister that contains chemicals like ammonium nitrate.
The problem with ARC airbag inflators is linked to a manufacturing problem with the inflator’s metal canister. This problem existed before ARC updated their manufacturing process in January 2018.
When the metal inflator canister was being welded together, the process could create debris called “weld slag” or “weld flash” that got left behind inside the sealed canister.
If the debris was big enough, it could plug up a hole that was supposed to allow gases to exit the canister and fill up the airbag. Instead, with nowhere to go, the gases pressurized the canister blew it apart, ejecting sharp metal fragments through the airbag and into the passenger compartment.
Who is Stellantis?
Stellantis is a multi-national automotive manufacturing company that was created when the Italian-American company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) merged with the French PSA Group.
List of Vehicle Brands Owned By Stellantis
- Abarth
- Alfa Romeo
- Chrysler
- Citroen
- Dodge
- DS
- Fiat
- Fiat Professional
- Jeep
- Lancia
- Maserati
- Mopar
- Opel
- Peugeot
- Ram
- Vauxhall
Do I have a Stellantis Airbag Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Stellantis airbag induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know was injured or died when an airbag exploded or failed to deploy, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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