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Another Death Tied to Imported Air Bags

The Texas traffic fatality is the 11th federal regulators have connected to defective inflators imported from China. They urge that a certain population of used vehicles be inspected.

September 3, 2026
Man gripping vehicle steering wheel on a drive

NHTSA encouraged drivers of used vehicles that have been in crashes since 2020 that included air bag deployments to get them inspected.

2 min to read


The risk posed by some imported vehicle air bags is apparently still at play, as federal regulators have pinned another U.S. death on the defective parts.

An Aug. 27 traffic fatality in Dallas is being blamed on a Chinese-made replacement air bag, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. transportation department.

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The agency encouraged drivers of used vehicles that have been in crashes since 2020 that included air bag deployments to get them inspected. It said the defective air bag inflators involved in the fatalities and injuries have all been marked with a DTN60DB identifier and that vehicles found to have the suspect inflators shouldn’t be driven until they’re replaced.

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence earlier issued guidance for repair technicians to ensure air bag inflators are genuine.

NHTSA has now connected 11 U.S. deaths to air bags made in China whose import it banned earlier this year. The earlier fatalities occurred in Chevrolet Malibus or Hyundai Sonatas. The latest happened in a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, according to NHTSA.

The frontal driver-side air bags’ inflators exploded instead of inflating into a cushion to protect the driver, according to the agency. The explosions sent large metal fragments into the drivers’ faces, necks and chests, resulting in the 11 deaths, in addition to three serious injuries, NHTSA said.

The agency said all of the 11 fatalities occurred in crashes that would have been otherwise survivable. It hasn’t ruled out other makes or models potentially having the banned air bag inflators.


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