This month in brief
Airbag lawsuits focus on inflators. An inflator is the small canister that fills the airbag in a crash. A faulty inflator can rupture. NHTSA has counted U.S. field ruptures of ARC inflators, one of them fatal.
Two inflator makers face federal MDLs in October 2026:
|
ARC |
Takata |
| MDL |
3051 |
2599 |
| Court |
N.D. Ga. (Atlanta) |
S.D. Fla. (Miami) |
| Judge |
Senior Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. |
Senior Judge Federico A. Moreno |
| Pending cases (Oct. 1, 2026) |
24 |
78 |
| Total cases ever filed in the MDL |
24 |
350 |
| Main claim type |
Economic-loss class claims |
Earlier economic-loss settlements topped $1.5 billion |
| Safety status |
No final NHTSA recall order as of May 2026 |
Do Not Drive warning expanded in February 2026 |
A third issue is counterfeit inflators, covered below.
ARC MDL 3051: the Oct. 2 ruling
The JPML created In re ARC Airbag Inflators Products Liability Litigation in December 2022. Judge Eleanor L. Ross first handled it and appointed plaintiffs’ leadership in March 2023. The JPML now lists Senior Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.
As of Oct. 1, 2026, the MDL had 24 pending cases. Most are economic-loss class claims. These seek money for vehicle owners, such as lost value, rather than for injuries.
On Oct. 2, 2026, Judge Thrash ruled on the defendants’ motions to dismiss. He granted them in part and denied them in part for ARC, its suppliers and the automakers. Specifically:
- He dismissed Audi for lack of standing.
- He dismissed Hyundai Korea and Kia Korea with prejudice, which means those claims cannot be refiled.
- He dismissed ARC for lack of personal jurisdiction in the cases he identified.
- Other defendants remain in the case.
No class-certification dates were found as of this check.
NHTSA and the ARC recall question
NHTSA, the federal auto safety agency, has worked on ARC inflators since at least 2023.
| Date |
NHTSA action |
| Sept. 5, 2023 |
Initial decision: ARC and Delphi frontal driver and passenger inflators made through January 2018 have a safety defect |
| July 31, 2024 |
Supplemental initial decision, published Aug. 5, 2024. It cited seven U.S. field ruptures, one of them fatal (Michigan, August 2021) |
| December 2024 |
Agency memo said NHTSA was doing additional investigation |
| May 2026 |
No final ARC recall order had been issued |
CBS News reported that about 52 million inflators were affected by the 2023 initial decision.
Automakers have acted on their own in some cases. In 2023, GM recalled 994,763 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs from model years 2014 to 2017 with ARC-made driver airbag parts. Motley Rice reports that BMW, GM and Volkswagen have run ARC-related recalls.
Counterfeit DTN inflators
On April 29, 2026, NHTSA issued a final decision ordering a recall of aftermarket inflators marked “DTN60DB.” Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology (DTN) in China made them. These are replacement parts, not original factory parts.
In June 2026, a Florida jury awarded $603 million to the estate of Destiny Byassee. She was killed by an exploding counterfeit airbag made by DTN. The award was $243 million compensatory plus $360 million punitive. DTN did not attend the trial. Morgan & Morgan represented the family. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If your car’s airbag was replaced, ask the repair shop what part it installed.
Takata MDL 2599
In re Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation sits in Miami before Senior Judge Federico A. Moreno. As of Oct. 1, 2026, it had 78 pending cases. A total of 350 cases have been part of the MDL.
Earlier, automakers settled economic-loss claims for more than $1.5 billion in total. Those settlements involved Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, BMW, Subaru and Mazda.
Takata inflators remain dangerous in unrepaired cars. NHTSA reports at least 28 U.S. deaths tied to them. In February 2026, Stellantis added about 225,000 older vehicles to a “Do Not Drive” warning. Check your vehicle’s recall status with your dealer or NHTSA using your VIN.
If an airbag hurt you or a family member
Airbag injury cases turn on physical evidence. Take these steps:
- Keep the vehicle. Do not let an insurer scrap it before a lawyer sees it.
- Save the airbag parts, the repair records and any recall notices.
- Get medical records that describe your injuries.
- Write down the vehicle’s make, model, year and VIN.
Each state sets its own filing deadline, and a death claim may have a different one. In Florida, for example, a product injury claim has four years but a wrongful death claim has two. Get a lawyer to confirm your state’s deadline before it runs out. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
For the other lawsuits we track, see the October 2026 overview. For another product that causes sudden injuries, see the pressure cooker lawsuit update.