• Defective replacement airbag inflators marked DTN60DB have now killed 11 people and severely injured three in crashes that federal safety regulators say should have been survivable.
• The dangerous inflators have been found in used Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata and now Chevrolet Equinox vehicles whose original airbags had previously been replaced.
• A normal VIN recall search will not tell you whether your car has one. NHTSA says owners of used vehicles with a history of airbag deployment should consider having the replacement inspected.

The federal government is issuing an urgent warning to used-car owners after an 11th person was killed by a defective replacement airbag inflator that can turn an automobile's most important safety devices into a fragmentation bomb.

The latest death occurred Aug. 27 in Dallas in a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is the first known death involving an Equinox; earlier fatalities occurred in Chevrolet Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas.

The driver died in what NHTSA described as an otherwise survivable crash.

Instead of properly inflating the driver's airbag, the defective inflator can rupture explosively and propel pieces of metal into the driver's chest, neck, face or eyes.

Federal investigators have now linked inflators bearing the identifier DTN60DB to 14 U.S. crashes resulting in 11 deaths and three severe injuries.

But this isn't an ordinary defective-car-part story.

The inflators were installed as replacement equipment, generally after the original airbag deployed in an earlier crash. They were likely illegally imported, and the government doesn't know which vehicles contain them.

That means someone can buy a used car, check its VIN for recalls, find nothing — and still have one of the deadly inflators hidden inside the steering wheel.

A recall search isn't enough

NHTSA banned the sale and importation of DTN60DB inflators in April, the first time the agency had banned a piece of motor-vehicle equipment in more than 20 years. At that point, 10 people had been killed and two severely injured.

But there's a fundamental problem with getting the dangerous parts off the road: Nobody has a complete list of the cars they're in.

Because the inflators were aftermarket parts and apparently entered the country outside normal distribution channels, they aren't tied to vehicle identification numbers in the way factory-installed equipment normally is.

NHTSA says that means a conventional recall is unlikely.

Even if an owner enters a VIN into a government recall database and gets an all-clear result, the agency warns, that does not establish that the vehicle doesn't contain a DTN60DB inflator. Only a physical inspection can determine that.

Used-car buyers are the people NHTSA is worried about

The warning doesn't apply indiscriminately to every vehicle on the road.

The principal concern is a used vehicle whose original airbag was replaced — particularly after a crash in which the airbag deployed.

NHTSA is urging owners and prospective buyers to obtain a vehicle-history report and look for:

• a previous crash involving airbag deployment;
• a previous total-loss declaration;
• theft history; or
• repairs performed outside certified service centers.

The agency specifically says vehicles involved in a crash with airbag deployment since 2020 should be inspected if the repair wasn't performed by the manufacturer's dealership.

That's a potentially large population of vehicles.

Airbags can deploy only once and must be replaced after deployment. In a properly repaired vehicle, the replacement should provide protection equivalent to the original equipment.

But used-car buyers often have little knowledge of who repaired a car before they owned it, where replacement parts came from or whether a rebuilt or salvage vehicle received genuine safety equipment.

The deaths aren't confined to one car model

Until this latest case, all known fatalities and serious injuries involving DTN60DB inflators had occurred in Chevrolet Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas.

That might have suggested the problem was somehow associated with those two models.

The death involving the Equinox undermines that assumption.

NHTSA had already warned that it could not conclude that the dangerous inflators were limited to Malibus and Sonatas because it doesn't know how many entered the United States or where they were installed.

The known cases now stretch from May 2023 through August 2026 and have occurred around the country, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah, California, Kansas, Ohio, Mississippi and Kentucky.

The pattern is nevertheless striking. Every known case involved a vehicle in which the original driver's frontal airbag inflator had been replaced.

What is a DTN60DB?

The suspect inflators are etched or labeled DTN60DB.

The "DTN" marking corresponds to Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese airbag-inflator manufacturer.

There is an important wrinkle, however.

The Chinese company has told NHTSA that it did not sell the inflators for installation in U.S. vehicles and has argued that the defective devices may actually be counterfeit versions of its products.

NHTSA hasn't resolved that question.

From a safety standpoint, the agency says it doesn't matter: inflators bearing the DTN60DB marking have ruptured with deadly consequences and have been determined to contain a motor-vehicle safety defect.

Echoes of the Takata disaster

The circumstances are different, but the danger will sound familiar to millions of motorists who lived through the massive Takata airbag recall.

Takata inflators could rupture during deployment and spray metal fragments into occupants. Tens of millions of U.S. vehicles were recalled.

The crucial difference is traceability.

Factory-installed Takata airbags could generally be connected to specific makes, models, model years and VINs. Manufacturers could therefore identify affected vehicles and notify owners.

With the DTN60DB inflators, regulators don't have that map.

NHTSA says the parts were imported by unknown importers, likely illegally, and installed as aftermarket replacements. The agency doesn't know the total number in the country. (NHTSA)

That leaves consumers with considerably more responsibility for discovering whether their cars are affected.

Don't open the steering wheel yourself

One thing owners should not do is try to check the inflator themselves.

NHTSA explicitly warns consumers not to dismantle a steering wheel or attempt to inspect an airbag. Airbags contain explosive components and can cause serious or fatal injury if improperly handled.

Instead, a dealership for the vehicle's manufacturer or a reputable independent repair shop can inspect the airbag and compare it with NHTSA's technical information.

Technicians may identify a suspect inflator through the DTN60DB marking and other identifying numbers on the unit.

If a DTN60DB inflator is found, NHTSA says do not drive the vehicle until it has been replaced with genuine equipment.

There is another unpleasant complication for consumers: NHTSA says the vehicle owner may have to pay both for the inspection and for replacement of the defective inflator.

What used-car owners should do now

The first question isn't simply what make and model you drive.

It's what happened to the car before you owned it.

Owners who know their vehicle has never been in a crash and never had its airbags replaced aren't affected by this particular warning, NHTSA says.

Everyone else — particularly people who bought a used, rebuilt or previously damaged vehicle — should consider checking its history.

A reported previous airbag deployment is the most important red flag.

If the history shows an airbag deployment, total loss, theft or questionable repair history, NHTSA recommends having the vehicle inspected by a dealership or reputable independent mechanic.

And don't assume a clean recall search settles the matter.

These replacement inflators are not linked to the car's VIN.

What this means for consumers

The 11th death exposes a weakness in the used-car safety system that extends beyond one defective airbag.

Modern cars can be repaired with thousands of replacement components after crashes. A subsequent buyer may know very little about where those components came from.

Most replacement parts don't sit inches from the driver's face containing an explosive charge.

Airbag inflators do.

NHTSA says frontal airbags have saved more than 50,000 lives over roughly three decades. Properly functioning airbags remain one of the automobile's most important safety technologies.

But an airbag can protect the driver only if the equipment installed behind the steering-wheel cover is genuine and functions as intended.

For owners of previously wrecked used cars, the government's message is increasingly urgent:

Don't just check whether your car has an open recall. Find out whether its airbag has ever been replaced — and, if it has, find out what was put in its place.

NHTSA's consumer alert and used-car guidance