Category Archives: NHTSA

Another NHTSA Investigation Into Airbag Safety

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have upgraded an investigation into exploding airbag inflators made by ARC Automotive Incorporated after a Canadian woman was killed during a low speed accident. According to a spokesman for Transport Canada, the woman may have survived the accident had she not suffered shrapnel injuries. The NHTSA began looking at ARC airbags last year after reports that an Ohio woman was seriously injured by a rupturing airbag when her 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivan crashed. Investigators say another injury involving a 2004 Kia Optima also had an ARC inflator installed from the same factory.

The NHTSA are focusing on airbags made between 2000 and September 2004, but do not believe that humidity is the cause of the problem. The probe into the ARC inflators is similar to the Takata issue which resulted in 69 million Takata airbags recalled in the U.S.

View the full details of the NHTSA ARC Airbag Investigation HERE.

NHTSA Calls On Media And Public To Help Fix High-Risk Takata Airbags

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New data affecting defective Takata air bag inflators in certain 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles, has found a high risk of ruptures during air bag deployment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are asking the media and public to ensure that vehicles in this population are found and fixed before they cause injuries or fatalities. According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, there is a 50% higher chance that these air bag inflators could rupture in a crash. Owners should stop driving their vehicles and have the airbags replace immediately. Continue reading →

Recall Rental Law Protects Drivers From Safety Defects

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On December 4, 2015 President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) into law. Although the federal act focuses primarily on maintaining infrastructure, a major provision within the regulations includes rules affecting automobile rental companies. The legislation was championed by the family of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, sisters who died in a rental vehicle that was under a safety recall that had not been repaired.

Beginning June 1, 2016, any company or dealer with fleets greater than 35 will be prohibited from renting vehicles with recalls until the problem has been fixed. Although the bill passed with the support of the rental car industry and the input of the American Car Rental Association, smaller independent companies question how the bill will affect their business. Often, automakers will announce a recall without a timeline for repairs or parts, leaving some fleets with cars parked for a potentially long time. Continue reading →

NHTSA “Safe Cars Save Lives” Campaign Urges Drivers To Fix Recalls

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The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a new public awareness campaign this week called “Safe Cars Save Lives”. The program is focusing on ways to encourage drivers to regularly check for open recalls and to get them fixed as soon as possible. According to NHTSA statistics, last year there were close to 900 recalls affecting 51 million vehicles nationwide, with an average 25 percent of recalls left unrepaired. Continue reading →

NHTSA Accelerates Takata Airbag Repairs

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into exploding Takata airbags has found that the manufacturer violated the Motor Vehicle Safety Act as well as the Federal regulations implementing the Act. The NHTSA have imposed one of the largest civil penalties in NHTSA history and have ordered all 12 vehicle manufacturers to accelerate repairs, prioritizing recalls so the vehicles experiencing the greatest safety risk will be fixed first. Continue reading →

Lawmakers Want All Takata Airbags Recalled

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Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey are pushing for a complete recall of Takata airbags as the NHTSA open an investigation into an airbag rupture involving a 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan in Missouri. Previously, the problem has occurred in older vehicles in areas of high humidity, but the most recent exploding airbag did not occur in one of the regions originally designated as high humidity and involved a newer vehicle, not currently subject to the recall. Continue reading →