The National National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a warning after multiple people in the U.S. died in what should have been survivable car accidents because their airbags had been transformed into a claymore mines.
NHTSA is aware of 10 crashes resulting in death or serious injury from ruptured replacement air bag inflators made in China by Jilin Province Detiannuo Automobile Safety System Co. Ltd., also known as DTN, and likely illegally imported into the United States.
The airbags are being installed in cars that were once in accidents where the original airbag deployed.
And it's as bad as it sounds:
These are substandard inflators, and when they're in a crash, even a minor crash, they're deploying and over-pressuring and shooting shrapnel to the face and chest of consumers or of the drivers," Administrator Jonathan Morrison told News4.
Morrison then went on to state the obvious:
‘There's nothing worse than a piece of equipment that's designed to save your life in serious crashes deploying and potentially killing you in minor crashes that you should walk away from,' Morrison said.
So far all of the deaths have been in Chevrolet Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas, but officials say there's no reason to think the deadly airbags are limited to these two vehicle types.
The NHTSA recommends getting your airbag checked out if your vehicle has ever been in an accident where the airbag deployed to be sure you're not driving around in a death trap.
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