There Might Be a 'Bomb' in Your Used Car's Steering Wheel

A hidden menace may be sitting in your steering wheel, reports the Wall Street Journal's Ryan Felton. Federal regulators say at least 10 US drivers have been killed and several others badly injured since 2023 by exploding air bags containing cheap, substandard inflaters—often bought online and installed in used cars after earlier crashes. One US attorney describes them as "bombs." In one Texas case, a Chevrolet Malibu's replacement air bag, purchased on eBay, shredded the driver's jaw with metal fragments; in Utah, a 17-year-old died when an air bag detonated in the car her mother had given her for her birthday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has now banned the sale and import of inflaters bearing a part number associated with Chinese maker Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology (DTN), but DTN claims the parts at issue are counterfeit knockoffs. Because the units move through gray-market channels—sometimes even hidden in toys—there's no clear paper trail, making a traditional recall nearly impossible. Drivers can't easily tell if their car has one without a mechanic's inspection. For a deeper look at the deaths, the supply chain, and what regulators can and can't do about it, read the full investigation at the Journal.