nhtsa then asks arc to prove a negative that the 67 million inflators in this population are not defective it saidus auto safety regulators have stepped up a longrunning investigation into potentially defective air bag inflators that can cause metal fragments to strike vehicle occupants saying it required auto supplier arc automotive inc to answer questions the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa in may demanded the recall of 67 million air bag inflators produced by arc because they could project metal fragments into vehicle occupants arc rejected the request nhtsas special order made public thursday requires the company to answer written questions under oath and provide documents by june 14 advt arc inflators are installed in vehicles made by general motors chryslerparent stellantis bmw hyundai motor and kia corp vehicles among other automakers gm recalled 103 million vehicles with arc air bag inflators in may after a rupture resulted in facial injuries to a driver nhtsa demanded that arc answer whether it contends air bag inflators are expected to occasionally rupture and if it had notified customers of this the agency said it wants the company to state the frequency of field ruptures of the subject inflators which it anticipated to occur as random oneoff anomalies arc which did not immediately comment thursday last month rejected nhtsas tentative conclusion that a defect exists saying it was based on just seven field ruptures in the united states nhtsa then asks arc to prove a negative that the 67 million inflators in this population are not defective it said nhtsa in 2016 upgraded a probe first opened in july 2015 of more than 8 million air bag inflators made by arc after a driver was killed in canada in a 2009 hyundai elantra the recall demand covers 67 million inflators produced through january 2018 delphi acquired by autoliv manufactured approximately 11 million of the inflators under a licensing agreement with arc which manufactured the remainder nhtsa said it has reports of two fatalities the canadian death and the august 2021 death of a driver in a 2015 chevrolet traverse ruptured in michigan that had a replacement air bag module produced by arc reuters published on jun 2 2023 at 0117 pm ist telegram facebook copy link be the first one to comment comment now comments comment now read comment 1 all comments post post find this comment offensive choose your reason below and click on the submit button this will alert our moderators to take actions reasons for reporting foul language defamatory inciting hatred against a certain community out of context spam others report join the community of 2m industry professionals subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights analysis download etauto app get realtime updates save your favourite articles scan to download app air bag nhtsa safety adas us aauto safety regulators homenewsindustryus agency steps up safety probe into air bag ruptures