Car Airbags from China Found ‘Counterfeit’

From toothpaste to toys to tilapia, Chinese imports account for more than 60% of all recalls in the United States.  Add to the list, tens of thousands of fake car safety airbags.

According to AP, "In one test, a counterfeit bag shot flakes and shards of metal shrapnel at a crash dummy instead of inflating."  In most cases, the airbags were installed as replacements to the original factory installed airbags, after they had been inflated.  However, the airbags fraudulently had car maker logos on them and they were usually sold in the secondary market at a cheaper cost than the "real" airbags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is recommending that those with replacement airbags to get them checked.  Unfortunately, this is expensive and drivers must pay fees for the replacement of the fake airbags out of the car owners own pocket.  Thanks again China!

One Chinese national, Dai Zhensong was arrested in the US and has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for importing counterfeit airbags.  Very scary stuff coming out of China.  When will it stop?  Do our politicians really care about us?  Are Americans willing to pay more for US made products?  That would be the end of Wal Mart and the "Dollar" stores around the country as a good percentage of products sold at these stores are "made in China."