Nearly 2M US vehicles at risk of counterfeit airbags, Carfax says
Texas has over 200K vehicles currently on the road after an air bag deployment
Ryan Payne predicts a ‘slowing’ in the US auto market: This will be ‘good for the consumer’
Payne Capital Management President Ryan Payne breaks down the latest data on the auto industry during an appearance on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
Tens of thousands of vehicles in the U.S. are at risk of getting a counterfeit air bag, according to a recent report from Carfax.
According to the auto company's data, nearly 2 million cars on the road today were involved in an accident where an air bag deployed over the last 2 years.
Each of those instances provided scammers with the opportunity to potentially install a counterfeit air bag as a replacement, potentially causing severe injuries and even death, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
OVER 6M VEHICLES ON ROAD WITH TAKATA AIRBAGS, 10 YEARS AFTER RECALL
In fact, Carfax data revealed that ten states have over 40,000 vehicles currently on the road after an air bag deployment, although some have over 100,000.
Texas is leading with 206,000 vehicles, followed by Florida and North Carolina with 106,000 and 100,000 respectively. Michigan has 81,000 followed by Georgia with 74,000 and Ohio with 59,000.
While this is believed to be a "rare" occurrence, the auto regulator as well as federal law enforcement officials say "there’s no way to know for sure just how many counterfeit air bags are being installed in U.S. cars today."
TOYOTA ISSUES 'DO NOT DRIVE' ADVISORY TO 50,000 CAR OWNERS OVER POTENTIALLY DEADLY AIR BAG ISSUE
In the last year alone, three people were killed and two others "suffered life-altering, disfiguring injuries due to these faulty aftermarket replacement air bag inflators," according to the NHTSA.
Cars and trucks drive through the fog on the Autobahn 81 (A81) near Rottweil. (Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In all five cases, the vehicles had been involved in a crash, and the air bags were replaced with defective, substandard inflators, most of which were confirmed to have been manufactured overseas.
In subsequent crashes, the replacement parts malfunctioned, "sending large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces, killing or severely injuring drivers in otherwise survivable crashes," the NHTSA said.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Cars driving on the highway (Jonas Walzberg/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The NHTSA also warned that these inflators could also deploy only partially or too slowly, failing to protect an occupant’s head from striking the steering wheel or dashboard.
The NHTSA urges consumers looking to buy a used vehicle to learn about a vehicle's history and ensure that it does have genuine air bag inflators.