US retreats from seeking recall of nearly 50 million air bag inflators

DETROIT– U.S. auto safety regulators have backed away from pursuing a massive recall of nearly 50 million airbag inflators and will investigate it further after the auto industry raised questions about whether all the inflators are defective.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s move is vastly different from a decision repeated by the agency in January that the inflators from ARC Automotive Inc. from Tennessee are defective and dangerous and should be recalled.

The agency has said inflators in about 49 million vehicles from 13 manufacturers are at risk exploding and hurling shrapnel to drivers and passengers. They have been responsible for at least seven injuries and two deaths in the US and Canada since 2009.

But in a document posted Wednesday in the Federal Register and dated Dec. 13, the agency said it was considering comments on a January recall decision. The automotive industry pointed out engineering and technical differences between ARC pumps in vehicles from different manufacturers. The comments also raised variations in the manufacturing process at different factories that made the ARC inflators.

“Given the potential relevance of these issues to the agency’s decision-making, including the appropriate scope of any recall, further investigation is warranted,” the agency said in the document.