General Motors is recalling nearly a million vehicles due to defective air bag inflators

General Motors said Friday it is recalling nearly 1 million sport-utility vehicles amid push by federal regulators to recall 67 million defective air bag inflators that could explode during deployment.

General Motors He remembers Includes a total of 994,763 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia vehicles from the 2014 through 2017 model years with airbag parts produced by ARC Automotive. Affected drivers can replace the driver airbag module for free, according to the automaker.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is urging the manufacturer of the airbag pump, Knoxville, ARC, based in Tennessee, to recall 67 million devices made before 2018 because they can explode and spray shrapnel around a vehicle.

At least nine airbag-related accidents occurred between 2009 and March of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said, resulting in two deaths and multiple serious injuries. letter to ARC released on Friday. The agency reported that a driver in Canada and another in Michigan were killed when a driver-side air bag inflator exploded.

After an eight-year investigation, the NHTSA has reached a “preliminary conclusion” that the airbag inflators are defective and is calling on the ARC to issue a recall.

“Inflating airbags that blow metal fragments into the occupants of a vehicle, rather than properly inflating the attached airbag, creates an unreasonable risk of death and injury,” the regulators wrote, noting that airbags — when functioning properly — are designed to save lives. “

NHTSA said at least 12 auto manufacturers have used ARC components in their air bags, and the recall could affect nearly a quarter of the cars currently on U.S. roads, according to the Associated Press.

However, the ARC is backing away from the regulators’ demands. On May 11th letterThe company denied that its products were defective and said that any problems with the airbags “caused by random” one-off manufacturing defects “that were properly addressed” with individual recalls.

The response constitutes a potential legal battle. The next step in the process is for the NHTSA to schedule a public hearing, according to the Associated Press. The company can then take it to court to force a withdrawal.