> Faulty Chinese Airbags Have Entered Used-car Market <
> Faulty Chinese Airbags Have Entered Used-car Market <
- Hi Member's, How do you know if you have a working/good air bag in your Monte Carlo or other car ?
- Faulty Chinese Airbags Have Entered Used-car Market, NHTSA Says
By Clifford Atiyeh Wed 1:54 PM
It began with poisonous toothpaste and dog food. Now, China is the source of another dangerous product in the United States: counterfeit airbags that don't work.
Chinese-made airbags are the latest black market infiltration, in which cheaper knockoffs are sold as original equipment to independent repair shops, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The fake airbags may already be installed in as many as 230,000 used cars -- about 0.1 percent of the country's entire light-duty fleet -- within the past three years, NHTSA says. Vehicles that have been repaired at authorized dealerships, which all carry OEM replacement parts, are not affected.
In August, federal agents raided a North Carolina man's home and found more than 1,500 counterfeit airbags inside. The airbags may be circulating throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, according to unnamed agents who spoke with WCNC-36 in Charlotte.
While the airbags have official-looking company logos and proper markings, during an accident they will fail -- over and over again. According to NHTSA lab tests, many of these airbags either didn't deploy when necessary or exploded shrapnel and fiery pieces of the bag straight into the driver's face.
What 
WTF More < Click 2 read more
================================================== ===
Click below link for another article on this subject
Government to warn motorists tens of thousands may have counterfeit air bags | Fox News <~ Click
Last edited by Space; Oct 14, 2012 at 09:54 AM.
Hi `Joe, but are you sure you have them in your Monte ?
Maybe the previous owner or drug using tech removed them & it just empty or replaced them with bad ones
Cry'in wolf
, but in todays world, no one really knows unless they check ?They cost big $'s & thieves love them 4-Sure
Last edited by Space; Oct 13, 2012 at 06:15 PM.
Hi Mod R.J., it's great to see you online...I have missed your input & seeing you online...I understand that you have been super busy...Post a update on how life is going 4 you & family + all your Chevy's 
Wish you a Super Eve/WeekEnd/Life
Wish you a Super Eve/WeekEnd/Life
How Safe Are Air Bags?
The first rule for safe vehicle airbags is that frontal systems are not designed for youngsters. Frontal airbags can be dangerous or even fatal to the following:
- Page Overview
- Kids in the Back
- Bags Mean Belts
- Proper Position
- Are They Safe?
Automobile airbags have been a critical advance in driver and passenger safety, but they can cause injury or even death if not used properly.
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates air bags saved more than 1,040 lives in 1998. However, there were almost 100 children killed by air bags during the same year. These deaths were because of children sitting in the front seat, being improperly fastened by seat belts, or not wearing seat belts at all.
Kids in the Back
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates air bags saved more than 1,040 lives in 1998. However, there were almost 100 children killed by air bags during the same year. These deaths were because of children sitting in the front seat, being improperly fastened by seat belts, or not wearing seat belts at all.
Kids in the Back
The first rule for safe vehicle airbags is that frontal systems are not designed for youngsters. Frontal airbags can be dangerous or even fatal to the following:
- Infants or babies in backward-facing child seats.
- Small children in forward-facing child seats.
- Older children belted only by the waist-belt, but not the shoulder belt.
- Any child who is below the weight limit for the front seat and belt without a booster seat, which is typically about 12 years old.
Even without airbags, the back seat of a vehicle is the safest place for a child to ride. As vehicles increasingly include frontal airbags, it is becoming more important to remember that children should be in the back seat at all times.
Bags Mean Belts
Air bag safety requires that all vehicle occupants be properly seated and wearing their seat belts. This means riders should be sitting upright with both feet on the ground. Both the lap belt and shoulder belt should be firmly and properly in place.
Airbags can cushion riders from the impact of a crash, but they deploy at speeds as high as 200 miles per hour. For airbags to be effective rather than harmful, riders must be correctly wearing their seat belts at all times.
Proper Position
Safety experts also caution drivers and passengers from being too close to the dashboard when the airbags are deployed. It is best to move the driver seat back as far as possible, while maintaining access to the brake, accelerator, steering wheel, and other controls. This is especially important for shorter drivers because they are naturally closer to the dashboard, and the risk of injury from airbag deployment is greater.
Riders in the passenger seat should also put their seat back as far as possible without disrupting any passengers behind them. This is intended to give the airbag some distance to deploy.
Another important thing to remember, along with good posture and proper seat belt use, is for the driver to generally keep his or her hands at the "10 and 2" positions. Hands should be gripping the steering wheel on the upper half of the steering wheel on both the left and right.
Are They Safe?
Airbags work with sensors that deploy the safety devices when a vehicle suddenly slows or stops. The sensors deploy the airbags by sending an electrical charge to spark a chemical reaction that results in the inflation of the airbag with nitrogen gas, taking air in from vents in the back of the airbag. Airbags also typically have tethers to center them. The process may leave smoke from the reaction or powder that is used to keep the airbag from crumpling or sticking together.
Despite their overall safety benefits, airbags continue to be a somewhat controversial technology. Some safety officials report that individuals are sometimes injured by airbags that have deployed in a low-impact collision.
Conversely, there are also complaints that airbags do not always deploy when they should. This includes high-impact collisions where drivers and passengers are injured.
In the end, however, airbags have been proven to be safer than the alternative. Make airbags as effective as possible by keeping children in the back seat, always wearing your seatbelt, and adjusting your seat to the proper position. Then, enjoy the safe ride!
Bags Mean Belts
Air bag safety requires that all vehicle occupants be properly seated and wearing their seat belts. This means riders should be sitting upright with both feet on the ground. Both the lap belt and shoulder belt should be firmly and properly in place.
Airbags can cushion riders from the impact of a crash, but they deploy at speeds as high as 200 miles per hour. For airbags to be effective rather than harmful, riders must be correctly wearing their seat belts at all times.
Proper Position
Safety experts also caution drivers and passengers from being too close to the dashboard when the airbags are deployed. It is best to move the driver seat back as far as possible, while maintaining access to the brake, accelerator, steering wheel, and other controls. This is especially important for shorter drivers because they are naturally closer to the dashboard, and the risk of injury from airbag deployment is greater.
Riders in the passenger seat should also put their seat back as far as possible without disrupting any passengers behind them. This is intended to give the airbag some distance to deploy.
Another important thing to remember, along with good posture and proper seat belt use, is for the driver to generally keep his or her hands at the "10 and 2" positions. Hands should be gripping the steering wheel on the upper half of the steering wheel on both the left and right.
Are They Safe?
Airbags work with sensors that deploy the safety devices when a vehicle suddenly slows or stops. The sensors deploy the airbags by sending an electrical charge to spark a chemical reaction that results in the inflation of the airbag with nitrogen gas, taking air in from vents in the back of the airbag. Airbags also typically have tethers to center them. The process may leave smoke from the reaction or powder that is used to keep the airbag from crumpling or sticking together.
Despite their overall safety benefits, airbags continue to be a somewhat controversial technology. Some safety officials report that individuals are sometimes injured by airbags that have deployed in a low-impact collision.
Conversely, there are also complaints that airbags do not always deploy when they should. This includes high-impact collisions where drivers and passengers are injured.
In the end, however, airbags have been proven to be safer than the alternative. Make airbags as effective as possible by keeping children in the back seat, always wearing your seatbelt, and adjusting your seat to the proper position. Then, enjoy the safe ride!
News for are airbags safe
Counterfeit air bags could malfunction, explode, regulators warn
<CITE style="FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,153,51)">Los Angeles Times</CITE> - by Jerry Hirsch - 3 days ago
Federal safety regulators are warning that counterfeit air bags are being installed by auto repair shops that might not deploy in an accident or ...
Counterfeit air bags may not inflate, US safety watchdog says
<CITE style="FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,153,51)">NBCNews.com</CITE> - 3 days ago
Replacement airbags are counterfeit according to govt.
<CITE style="FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,153,51)">KLKN</CITE> - 3 days ago
^ They have to be expensive to replace ? I hope you don't get any from China ?
Last edited by Space; Oct 15, 2012 at 09:44 AM.