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DETROIT, May 13 (AP) — A Tennessee company is in the middle of a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request to recall millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators.
Knoxville-based ARC Motors should recall 67 million inflators in the United States because they could explode and throw shrapnel, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday. At least two people have been killed and six others injured in ARC inflator failures in the U.S. and Canada, the agency said.
The recall would cover most of the 284 million vehicles currently on U.S. roads, but the exact percentage is hard to pin down. Some have ARC inflators for the driver and front passenger.
In a letter released Friday, the agency told ARC that after an eight-year investigation, it had initially concluded that ARC’s former driver and passenger inflators had safety deficiencies.
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But ARC responded that there were no defects in the inflators and that any issues were related to isolated manufacturing issues.
The next step in the process is for NHTSA to schedule a public hearing. It can then take the company to court to force a recall.
Also on Friday, documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that General Motors is recalling nearly 1 million vehicles equipped with ARC inflators. The recall involves certain 2014-2017 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs.
The automaker said an inflator explosion “could result in sharp metal fragments hitting the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.”
Owners will be notified by letter starting June 25, but there is currently no resolution. When one letter is ready, they receive another. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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