Counterfeit Air-Bag Parts Are Killing U.S. Drivers--and the Government Can't Stop It

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Thu Jul 9, 2026, 07:51 PM - Edit history (1)

Counterfeit Air-Bag Parts Are Killing U.S. Drivers—and the Government Can’t Stop It

After 10 deaths, regulators are warning the public about air bags in used cars with components marked as made by a Chinese company, but tracing them is difficult


Eui Seok Kang was severely injured when his air bag exploded in a 2023 crash.

By Ryan Felton | Photography by Jintak Han for WSJ
July 8, 2026 at 9:00 pm ET

Eui Seok Kang lost control of his Chevrolet Malibu in torrential rain late one night in October 2023, spun sideways across two lanes of a Texas road and was struck by a pickup truck. When his air bag deployed, it tore apart his jaw.

“I couldn’t breathe, I felt like something was stuck in my throat,” Kang recalled in an interview. He lost half of his lower jaw, most of his lower teeth and some upper teeth. Over the next month, he underwent three surgeries, including for an infection and facial reconstruction.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. The U.S. Government Still Has No Idea Who's Making Deadly Aftermarket Airbags

News
The U.S. Government Still Has No Idea Who's Making Deadly Aftermarket Airbags

BY LALITA CHEMELLO JULY 12, 2026 3:25 PM EST

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Back in April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration alerted the public to deadly airbag inflators linked to 10 deaths since 2023. These particular inflators, possibly manufactured by Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co., Ltd., or DTN, throw shrapnel when deployed on impact. And although the agency had a company name, a part number, and some vehicle models involved, according to The Wall Street Journal, it's been nearly impossible to track down who is putting these inflators in aftermarket airbags, let alone find how they're getting onto the market.

NHTSA's investigation into those 10 deadly crashes found each vehicle installed a replacement airbag with DTN-made airbag inflators, identified with the numbers DTN60DB on the inflator cap and manufactured between 2021 and 2022. In most cases, except one where there were no records of a prior accident, these airbags were aftermarket purchases to repair vehicles where the airbags had deployed. WSJ reports one individual whose used 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, which has been involved in a crash prior to his purchase, left him with disfiguring injuries after a crash. In another example, a woman died when her used 2020 Chevrolet Malibu crashed, it too had a replacement airbag after the original deployed in a prior accident.

None of this would have been found if not for the Takata airbag recall which prompted NHTSA to order automakers report any incident where an airbag ruptures, much like these DTN inflators.

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