What should I know about  airbag fraud?

Do you think that the airbag in that deployed in your car or truck, didn’t work properly during an accident, you might be a victim of airbag fraud. Investigators in several states claim that at times stolen or refurbished airbags are sold as new and don’t work properly.

There are body shops that install used or stolen airbags, and then charge your insurance company as if it were new and working properly.

Sadly, airbag fraud is a growing problem and not just because it tricks insurers into paying for something that they shouldn’t be paying for. Salvaged airbags are usually very unsafe and damaged.

Sometimes, technicians might install airbags filled with useless material that will not help passengers survive in an accident or they just leave the airbags empty, also making the passenger be at a greater risk of death during an accident.

Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says, “As far as we know, every insurer in the United States insists on a replacement, OEM (original equipment manufacturer), new airbag. Do we think they’re paying for savaged and stolen airbags? Yes, but not knowingly.”

Tim Hurd, spokesman for the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), says, “If you knowingly render safety equipment inoperative, then the federal government can chase you down and prosecute you. But the end user of a vehicle is not required to replace anything that’s been broken in a crash, including airbags and seat belts. If you get a used car, it does not have to include safety equipment.”

Hurd claims, “We’d have to get a complaint about airbag fraud and initiate an investigation, but we don’t get many complaints. People just don’t know. And  if they do find out about fraud, they’ll take it up in court and sue the person who repaired the airbag, or who sold them a car with a faulty airbag. It’s very rare that they call the federal government.”

Enforcement is still a problem, despite the fact that states have laws on the books regulating airbag replacement. Hazelbaker says, “So there’s a statute, but how is it enforced? It isn’t. If you were to tell the police that going into body shops and investigating bags is a priority, they might look a bit askance.”

The best way to know if your car has been replaced with a fraudulent airbag is by looking at the airbag warning light which will usually flash a few second  when you first start the car.

Hazelbaker says, “The best case scenario is that it might work perfectly. The works case scenario is that you could be killed.”