Source of deadly fake airbags cannot be found

The US government cannot find the source of fake airbags used in vehicles that cause death by ejecting metal fragments in the event of an accident. Hundreds of thousands of drivers could be at great risk. See Full Size The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a serious warning about airbags, which have been associated with at least 10 deaths since 2023 and throw metal shrapnel like a grenade rather than a protector in the event of an accident.

Research indicates that these dangerous parts may have been produced by the China-based "Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology" (DTN) company. It was determined that these products, especially identified with the part number "DTN60DB", caused serious injury or death to the driver and passengers by throwing metal fragments into the vehicle at high speed in the event of a collision.

The biggest problem comes from not being able to track how these parts enter the market. While the cost of an original airbag module can exceed $1,000, repair shops or vehicle owners who want to reduce costs can choose fake or aftermarket products for as low as $100 on platforms such as eBay or Facebook marketplace. Because these parts are often smuggled into the country illegally and without any official paperwork, authorities are helpless to find these ghost suppliers.

See Full Size NHTSA officials state that there is a high probability that vehicles, especially the 2018-2022 model Chevrolet Malibu and the 2017-2019 model Hyundai Sonata, have been repaired with these risky parts.