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In one of the worst made in China product disasters in recent memory, 10 people right here in the US have recently either died or been seriously wounded when the airbag in their car went off and blasted their face, neck and chest with metal shrapnel. Basically, instead of creating a nice soft pillow to cushion the impact, these made in China airbags acted more like grenades so far, killing eight drivers in what would have otherwise been survivable crashes and then also seriously wounding two others. And so in today's episode, let's go through what we know about these airbags, how they're actually getting into American cars, why specifically they're killing people, as well as how you can check to see if your car is actually safe. And as always, I would greatly appreciate if you smash those like and subscribe buttons so that this video can be picked up by the YouTube algorithm and share it to ever more people who in my opinion really should know about this valuable information. Now to start with, let me read to you from a press release that was released just earlier last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Here's what they said regarding these airbags. Quote we're issuing an urgent warning to used car buyers and owners after two more drivers have been killed in crashes in December by substandard and dangerous Chinese replacement airbag inflators that are likely illegally imported. All of these vehicles have had their original equipment airbags replaced with substandard airbags after a previous crash. Meaning that all of these cars in question have been in a previous accident where the original airbags went off. And when that happens and you want to go ahead and rebuild the car, you need to go and put in a new airbag system. However, it appears that through either ignorance or by trying to cut corners and save money they these cars were re outfitted with illegal made in China airbag inflators from one particular company. QUOTE we are aware of 10 crashes resulting in death or serious injury from ruptured replacement airbag inflators made in China by Jilin Province D10NOA Automobile Safety System CO. Ltd. Also known as DTN and likely illegally imported into the United States. These dangerous substandard airbag inflators malfunction and crashes sending large metal fragments into drivers chests, necks, eyes and faces. Now the company they mentioned here is the China based dtm. They manufacture airbag inflators. That's the explosive component which rapidly fills an airbag in the event of a crash. And their products, they are very much not certified nor are they approved for sale here in the United States because they fail to meet U.S. safety standards, which is something that they themselves admit over on their website, when you take a look, says the following, quote, we do not do business with the United States and any of our products are prohibited from being sold to the United States. And so that's exactly why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that's why they believe that the airbag inflators in question were illegally imported into the US and then illegally installed into US Cars aftermarket after the original airbags were already at least once deployed. And then, of course, the people buying these used cars were likely very much not aware of the fact that their airbag was essentially a grenade from China waiting to go off. And just to give you a picture of how this looked like in practice, back In June of 2023, a Florida woman, and sadly a mother of two young children was driving a used Chevy Malibu that she had recently purchased when she got into a fender bender and the airbag deployed and it detonated like a grenade, sending shrapnel all throughout the cabin, striking her face, head as well as neck and ultimately killing her. Now, her estate is suing a rental company for making these cheap fixes to a totaled car in order to be able to sell it. And this is a quote from their lawyer, quote, from our investigation. We believe this is a shockingly widespread issue. Rental car companies reselling damaged vehicles and auto repair shops installing cheap non compliant parts from Chinese companies and cutting corners during the repair process to resell vehicles as quickly as possible. Basically, their investigation found that these rental car companies, if their car gets totaled, they quickly, as cheaply as possible, fix it up and sell it used. Now, that case in Florida is still pending. However, another example of what these airbags can do, it comes from one of the two surviving victims of these airbags. And one of them gave a testimony to federal investigators that telling them what happened to them when the airbag deployed. And they really do paint a gruesome picture. Here's what their testimony said. Quote, When I was in a car accident, the airbag exploded. However, the airbag's balloon, like fabric material, did not deploy and a metal part even flew off the steering wheel and exploded, hitting me in the chin. So I lost about half of my lower jaw, most of my lower teeth, and some of my upper teeth. In the process, I underwent a total of three surgeries, emergency infection, and reconstruction surgery. And then right below that gruesome testimony, you can see that that particular driver was driving a 2020 Chevy Malibu. And that fact is relevant because according to Government investigators. Thus far, only two types of cars have been affected by these faulty airbags. You have Chevy Malibus as well as Hyundai Sonatas. All 10 of the incidents thus far occurred in one of those two cars, either a Malibu or a Sonata. However, the federal agency, they also made a point to mention that they cannot confirm whether the problem is really limited to only those two makes and models. Instead, you had the Office of Defects Investigation, otherwise known as the odi. They've opened an investigation into these cases and they have publicly stated that the total amount of airbag inflators currently under investigation is roughly 10,000. And to that point, you had the Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Sean Duffy, and add the following quote, my message to the auto repair industry is clear. Whoever is bringing this faulty Chinese equipment into the country and installing them is putting American families in danger and committing a serious crime. Now, I will mention that unfortunately, these made in China airbags, they appear to only be one facet of a growing trend of counterfeit parts being put into cars. And to that end, you recently had the president of A2C2, which stands for the Automotive Anti Counterfeiting Council. He came out and he said that the sale of counterfeit parts has been trending upwards following the COVID 19 pandemic. Here's a quote from him. Quote, most of the counterfeits that we're seeing are being facilitated through online sales. The original seller of the product usually originates from the Asia area, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, through third party facilitators. He also made a point to mention that while his organization usually does not conduct a lot of testing overall, the they have focused on counterfeit airbag tests over the past two years. And to that end, they've actually put together a really good video. We can take a look at comparing side by side crash tests of genuine airbags compared to counterfeit airbags. Take a look.
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A test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows the catastrophic failure of a counterfeit airbag. Hyundai purchased what proved to be a counterfeit driver side airbag from an E Commerce platform, then tested the counterfeit versus a genuine Hyundai airbag. The results reveal the potentially deadly impact that the driver could suffer without the protection typically provided by a genuine airbag. Honda used a watermelon to help demonstrate the tight specifications to which genuine airbags are built and why it's so important that the airbag deploys at exactly the right moment in a collision. In comparing genuine versus counterfeit airbags, all of the counterfeits fail to deploy in a proper manner. This shows how ineffective these potentially life saving devices can be when counterfeited.
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Now, it obviously goes without saying from that video that you do not want one of these counterfeit airbags in your car. They can literally turn like a small fender bender and into a life or death crisis. And so here's the state of things as it currently stands. For one, you have federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They're currently conducting their large investigation and as I already mentioned, they're currently looking at over 10,000 airbag inflators. Secondly, you have that law firm down in Florida. They appear to be doing a lot of heavy lifting, trying to go after not only the Chinese manufacturers but but also the American companies, the ones based here in the US who appear to be skirting the rules in order to save a few dollars. But then thirdly, while those things are happening, you should really be made aware of how you can take care of both your own self as well as your family. Firstly, if you happen to have bought a used car recently, consider signing up at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website to start receiving email alerts if any future recall affects your car. Basically, if their investigation finds anything suspicious about your make and model in regards to either the airbags or actually anything else, you will get an email and I'll mention that if there is a recall, then the needed repair is automatically free, regardless of your vehicle's age or ownership status. And so that's the first thing. Sign up for those email alerts. Secondly, if you recently bought a used car, especially I should mention if it's a rebuilt title, here is what the Transportation Department suggests. Quote, we urge used vehicle owners and buyers to learn their vehicle's history and ensure the vehicle has genuine airbag inflators. If their vehicle has been in a previous crash where the airbag deployed, it should be inspected immediately to ensure that the airbag is a legitimate replacement equivalent to the original. If a vehicle has a salvage or rebuild title, it is especially urgent that it be inspected for one of these inflators. If the vehicle is found to have one of these DTN inflators, it should not be driven until the inflator is replaced with genuine parts. If an owner or buyer does not know the vehicle's history, they should get a history report and have the vehicle inspected by a reputable mechanic or dealership. If it has been in a previous crash with airbag deployment, and if you actually wind up looking into it and find that, wow, actually my car does have one of these DTN airbag inflators for One, try not to drive it until it's been replaced. But then also consider filing an official report. The DOT Department of Transportation. They recommend that you contact both their local Homeland Security Investigations Office and or your local FBI field office in order to report the situation. That way, they can know about it and then add it to their growing body of research. In this particular investigation, for your convenience, I will throw all the relevant links down into the description box below, including the notices both from the federal government and, as well as all the relevant links to sign up for the email alerts and also the links to report anything that you actually find with your card to the relevant departments. You'll be able to find all those links down in the description box below, right next to those like and subscribe buttons. And then lastly, I mean, I'll throw this out. You know, sometimes our videos do get a lot of traction, and so I'll throw this out. If anyone from DTN happens to be watching this video, I don't know. Reconsider your life choices. Because even though your parts are not sanctioned to be sold here in the United States, I mean, they're sold elsewhere. So what are you doing? Like, you're manufacturing airbag inflators that explode into people's faces, sending shrapnel into their face, eyes, neck and chest, and killing them? If I was ever in charge of a manufacturing process of airbags that killed people, I would immediately stop it and fix that problem. Like, rather than just say, hey, we're not selling to the US if you're importing it, it's none of our business. It's your business. What is going on with that anyway? Look into your cars. If you happen to buy a used car in the last few years, look into it. Maybe next time you get your routine check, just ask the mechanic. Hey, can you just make sure that the airbag inflator is genuine and not one of these DTN airbag inflators? Better to be safe than sorry. Again, all those links will be down there in the description box below for your convenience. And then, until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epoch Times. Stay informed, stay safe, and then, until next time, stay free.