General Motors Co. is recalling more 42,000 vehicles in Canada over concerns their air bag inflators could explode, bringing the total number of affected vehicles in North America to more than one million.
The driver’s front airbag inflator could rupture in a crash, potentially preventing the safety device from properly deploying and propelling fragments that could injure or kill, the Canadian government said Monday. The action comes after a similar move by GM on May 12 to recall more than 994,000 cars in the United States.
As many as 67 million of the airbags with potentially defective parts should be immediately recalled, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA has identified at least nine cases of ruptured air bag inflators that led to injuries, including two deaths, dating from 2009 to as recently as this past March.
The recalls affect vehicles manufactured from 2014 to 2017 and equipped with inflators made by Knoxville, Tennessee-based ARC Automotive. ARC has pushed back against that recommendation, but has said it will continue to cooperate with the agency’s investigation.
