— A General Motors exploding ARC airbag recall includes more than 1 million Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia vehicles that need new driver's airbag modules.
The 2014-2017 Buick Enclave, 2014-2017 Chevrolet Traverse and 2014-2017 GMC Acadia airbag inflators supplied by ARC Automotive could explode, even in minor collisions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an ARC Automotive airbag inflator investigation in July 2015 which was upgraded in August 2016.
NHTSA investigated airbag inflator problems in models from various automakers after safety regulators learned about injuries in Chrysler and Kia vehicles equipped with ARC airbags.
One exploded airbag sent pieces of the metal inflator into the chest of a woman, and a separate incident launched shrapnel into the face of a woman. She suffered a broken jaw in three places and spent over three months in a trauma hospital.
Another exploded ARC airbag inflator killed a woman in Canada, but none of the incidents occurred in GM vehicles.
But in March 2023, GM received a report of a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse crash which involved an ARC airbag inflator that exploded. This crash joined two previous ARC airbag explosions that also occurred in Chevy Traverse vehicles.
The three GM ruptured airbag incidents involved the same inflator variant, but even after retaining a third-party engineering company that specializes in airbags and inflators, GM still isn't sure what is causing the ARC airbag inflators to rupture.
This recall is an expansion of two previous ARC airbag inflator recalls, one in December 2021 and another in June 2022.
GM ARC airbag recall letters are expected to be mailed June 26, 2023. General Motors dealers will replace the driver-side airbag modules.
With questions about the ARC airbag recall, Buick customers can call 800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners may call 800-222-1020 and GMC Acadia owners may call 800-462-8782.
GM's ARC airbag recall number is N232404980.
