- Counterfeit airbag inflators from China are being retrofitted into US vehicles.
- 22-year-old mother killed in Florida when the airbag exploded “like a grenade.”
- Transportation Secretary warns repair shops installing these airbags commit crimes.
A new federal investigation is shining a light on potentially deadly aftermarket airbag parts after a series of crashes exposed catastrophic failures. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a probe following seven incidents linked to faulty inflators, five of which proved fatal. The issue has drawn a sharp warning from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who labeled the devices “dangerous.”
The components under scrutiny are believed to come from Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology, better known as DTN Airbag. Investigators allege that the company’s inflators contain volatile chemicals that can ignite during deployment, causing the airbag to inflate violently and without control.
Counterfeit Parts on the Market
According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the investigation, noted that the NHTSA has connected DTN to seven incidents and five fatalities involving the airbag inflators. One of these fatalities only happened as recently as July.
It’s understood that many repair shops and assemblers have been importing the cheap airbag inflators from overseas, often without realizing it. WSJ reports that DTN’s products are counterfeits that closely mimic genuine parts, yet they’re sold at a fraction of the price, sometimes as little as one-tenth the cost.
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“These fakes are often constructed with poor-quality materials and are more likely to fail because they’re only imitations of the engineering that goes into the real product,” Bob Stewart, president of the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council and global brand protection manager at General Motors, told the newspaper.
The issue first surfaced publicly in the US when the family of 22-year-old Destiny Byassee filed a lawsuit in Florida. The young mother was killed in a crash while traveling at just 30 mph (48kmh) in her 2020 Chevrolet Malibu. Investigators allege that a counterfeit DTN inflator had been installed, and that it exploded “like a grenade,” sending sharp pieces of metal and plastic into her neck.
Federal Warning
“My message to the auto repair industry is clear: whoever is bringing this faulty Chinese equipment into the country and installing them is putting American families in danger and committing a serious crime,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently said. He has urged repair shops and distributors to remain vigilant, emphasizing that DTN inflators pose a direct risk to public safety.
There’s no word on how many vehicles in the US may have been installed with counterfeit airbag inflators from DTN. The company, for its part, maintains that its products are banned from sale in the US and insists it does not conduct business within the country.
