Cheap, Substandard Replacement Airbags Are Not Worth it

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is warning drivers about “cheap, substandard replacement air bag inflators” in used cars that can fail to prevent serious injuries or death in a vehicle wreck. The agency said Wednesday that three people have been killed and two suffered severe injuries in the past nine months due to substandard, aftermarket air bag inflators. In each of the five cases in which someone was killed or injured, the vehicle had previously been involved in a crash and the original airbags were replaced. Malfunctioning airbag inflators sent “large metal fragments into drivers’ chests, necks, eyes and faces, killing or severely injuring drivers in otherwise survivable crashes,” according to NHTSA.