Do You Have A Counterfeit Airbag?

This sounds ridiculous, but if you have had your airbag replaced in the last three years, you may need to verify that you have a real airbag.

According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration is preparing to warn us that counterfeit bags may have been installed in your cars.

A public announcement will be made on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. NHTSA will ask car owners to check a government website, Safercar.gov, or call their manufacturer or local dealership to learn if their car model is among the number of models in which counterfeit airbags have been installed.

The counterfeit airbags are made to look like airbags made by automakers and usually include a manufacturer's logo. They were marketed to auto dealers as the real thing. However, they are far from the real thing. In at least one case, instead of deploying properly, the bag fired shards of plastic on impact. Yikes. That does not sound good.

*Update 10/10/12

NHTSA's counterfeit air bags press release including makes and models of vehicles which may be affected.