Defective Chinese Airbag Inflator Now Linked To 11 Road Fatalities

Small Part, Big Consequences

As the automotive industry expands and production also speeds up, automakers are always looking to match the demand and keep up in terms of production timelines. It also matters that they try to keep costs in line, which has led to a more global supply chain for automotive production. Not all parts and features are built by the brand itself; often these parts are built in countries with more affordable labor and bigger manpower scale.

China is one of the biggest manufacturing economies in the world, and the scale of which allows it to produce parts and supply them to various manufacturers. Unfortunately, it has come to light that a China-sourced airbag part has been linked to road accident fatalities in the U.S., with one occurring just a month ago.

Defective Airbag Kills 11

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just confirmed another fatality linked to this faulty part; the tally is now up to 11 road fatalities in total. It is believed that the part in question is an airbag inflator that is sourced from China. As if 11 deaths weren’t shocking enough, it’s also been revealed that 10 out of the 11 were using General Motors (GM) vehicles.

Last August 27, 2026, was when the latest death occurred, specifically in Dallas, where the driver was using a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. According to the NHTSA, had the inflator worked properly, the crash would have been survivable. Instead, this car underwent an inflator replacement service that installed a defective unit, which ruptured during the accident and sent metal fragments into the vehicle’s occupant, leading to the death.

Part number DTN60DB was first linked to 10 deaths all aboard a Chevrolet Malibu, while 3 severe injury incidents were linked to the Hyundai Sonata. The Chevrolet Equinox incident is the first one outside those 2 models. The safety agency says that DTN60DB inflators “pose a serious risk of injury or death” because they can explode instead of properly inflating the airbag. If it does explode, the resulting metal fragments can strike occupants in the eyes, neck, chest, and face.

Not Our Fault

The Chinese manufacturer in question, DTN, says that it cannot be proven that the inflators in question were indeed manufactured by them. Furthermore, DTN claims that it cannot be proven that the accidents were caused by the defective airbag inflators. In any case, the NHTSA has banned the importation and sale of DTN60DB, and also advises buyers of used vehicles to be careful and ask whether the car has been in an accident and, if possible, to have the inflators properly inspected.