MENU
SEARCHASE has issued guidance for service technicians to inspect units in vehicles they work on to ensure they’re not suspect air bags linked to deaths.
ASE issued detailed guidance on inspecting air bags to ensure they're genuine OEM units.
Pexels/AngieJohnston
After air bags allegedly sold by a Chinese company were linked to 10 U.S. driver deaths, auto dealers and other car servicers are being encouraged to conduct air bag safety inspections to identify any suspect units.
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, or ASE, issued detailed guidance for service technicians to inspect air bags of vehicles they work on to ensure they’re not from the same source as the deadly units.
ASE issued a graphic detailing how service technicians can inspect air bags to ensure they're genuine and not among a suspect batch of imported units linked to deaths and injuries.
National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence
The efforts follow a determination by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that air bags linked to a company named DTN caused the deaths of 10 Americans and serious injury of two others.
NHTSA said the company denied making the air bags with inflators that exploded, claiming the units involved in the U.S. deaths and injuries were counterfeit. The federal agency says the suspect air bags are marked with the “DTN60DB” identifier.
“Whether the subject inflators were manufactured by DTN or are counterfeit does not change NHTSA’s finding that the inflators marked as DTN60DB are defective,” the agency said.
NHTSA said the air bags in question were likely illegally imported but nevertheless said it’s banning their import. The air bags that exploded upon deployment have so far all been in Chevrolet Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas, though NHTSA didn’t rule out their presence in other makes and models and said it doesn’t know how many of the suspect air bags were imported to the U.S.
ASE, meanwhile, said any air bags with the DTN marker should be replaced with genuine automaker units.
“Air bag systems are complex safety components that should only be inspected or serviced by trained professionals,” said ASE President and CEO Dave Johnson.
“When it comes to this type of safety-critical system, experience and expertise matter. ASE-certified professionals have passed stringent certification tests demonstrating their technical knowledge is consistent with the highest professional standards in the transportation industry.”
Last month, NHTSA warned consumers to research vehicles' histories before buying and avoiding driving any whose air bag provenance hadn't been confirmed.
Feldman Automotive Group added two new brands, Honda and Toyota, to its portfolio with its latest acquisition of four Fireside dealerships in Ohio.
Read More →
Its venture capital arm, BMW i Ventures’, third fund will focus on agentic and physical artificial intelligence, as well as sustainable industrial processes and materials.
Read More →
Subaru of America is revamping its fixed operations department to emphasize the automaker’s commitment to enhancing customer ownership experience.
Read More →
At nearly 14%, California had the lowest zero-emission vehicle market share in the first quarter since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the California New Car Dealers Association.
Read More →
The new chief revenue officer joins the company from one of its partner firms and is an industry thought leader in participation programs.
Read More →
Technology leaders from Hyundai Motor Group will have open discussions at the inaugural HMG Tech Talent Forum on topics ranging from autonomous driving to 'smart' manufacturing.
Read More →
Stellantis is adding a third end-of-life vehicle dismantling facility to feed its growing reuse business sparked in large part by autos’ growing lifespans.
Read More →
U.S. consumer interest in electric vehicles lags behind other countries despite the rising gas prices caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Read More →
Research reveals the brands and models most likely to have higher recall rates over their lifetimes. While some brands rank high, addressing safety issues can be a selling point.
Read More →
Dealers are facing growing frustrations with current generic artificial intelligence tools, according to a survey by Lotlinx, which found they want a solution that understands their inventories.
Read More →