How Deadly Airbags Are Getting Inside Cars

Summary of How Deadly Airbags Are Getting Inside Cars

by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios

19m•July 24, 2026
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Overview of How Deadly Airbags Are Getting Inside Cars

This episode of The Journal investigates a dangerous counterfeit-airbag problem in the U.S. that has already killed and severely injured multiple people. The core issue is that fake or noncompliant airbag inflators are being installed in repaired and used cars, often through online marketplaces and outside the normal dealership recall system, making them extremely hard to trace and remove.

What Happened to Victims

Ui Sok Kang’s crash

  • Kang survived a collision in Texas, but his own airbag exploded with metal fragments, badly injuring his face, jaw, and neck.
  • He needed multiple surgeries and reconstructive procedures.
  • His case illustrates how the airbag itself, not just the crash, can cause catastrophic harm.

Other fatal cases

The episode highlights several deaths linked to these defective airbags, including:

  • A 17-year-old high school senior
  • A middle school teacher
  • A 20-year-old man in Mississippi
  • Destiny Biasi, a mother of two in Florida, whose crash should have been survivable but became fatal when her airbag exploded

How Counterfeit Airbags End Up in Cars

The episode traces a typical path for a bad airbag:

  1. A car gets into a crash and the airbags deploy.
  2. The vehicle is sold at auction.
  3. A repair shop or reseller buys a cheap replacement airbag online.
  4. The car is repaired and resold through the used-car market.
  5. A later owner unknowingly drives with a counterfeit or unsafe airbag installed.

Key point: these parts are often bought on sites like eBay or Facebook Marketplace, where they can be much cheaper than OEM replacements.

Why the Problem Is So Hard to Fix

Used-car repairs break the recall system

  • In a normal recall, automakers can contact original owners directly.
  • In the used-car market, especially after independent repairs, that chain of custody breaks down.
  • Regulators often have to backtrack through auctions, sellers, repair shops, and online listings to figure out where a part came from.

The scale is unclear

  • Regulators estimate there may be around 10,000 dangerous inflators out there, but they do not really know how many are still in circulation.
  • The episode describes the process as a “whack-a-mole” problem.

What Investigators Found

A pattern in the inflators

  • Starting in 2023, investigators noticed a recurring part number/serial number pattern on failed inflators.
  • In one case, a shard with the identifying number was found lodged in a victim’s neck.

DTN Airbag

  • The part numbers were linked to DTN Airbag, a company based in China.
  • DTN denied responsibility, saying it does not sell airbags in the U.S. and does not certify the product.

Why they spread

  • A genuine airbag replacement can cost around $1,000.
  • Counterfeit or questionable replacements can be much cheaper, creating a strong incentive for buyers and sellers.

Law Enforcement and Regulatory Response

  • The Justice Department has secured more than a dozen convictions over the past decade for counterfeit airbag sales.
  • One recent case involved a former North Carolina transportation employee who allegedly imported and resold thousands of fake airbags on Facebook Marketplace.
  • NHTSA opened a formal investigation in 2025 and worked with platforms to trace buyers and issue warnings.
  • NHTSA also banned certain DTN-labeled parts tied to fatalities.

What Consumers Can Do

The episode’s main practical advice:

  • If you’re buying a used car, check whether the airbags deployed in any prior crash.
  • Use tools like Carfax and the vehicle’s VIN history.
  • Be especially cautious if the car has had crash repairs done outside a dealership or with unclear documentation.

Main Takeaways

  • Airbags save lives, but counterfeit or noncompliant replacements can be deadly.
  • The danger is concentrated in the used-car and aftermarket repair market.
  • Online marketplaces have made it easier to buy cheap safety parts, but that also makes it easier for counterfeiters to sell dangerous products.
  • Regulators can identify and ban certain parts, but tracking and removing them is extremely difficult once they’re in circulation.

Bottom Line

This is a story about a hidden safety threat inside ordinary used cars: counterfeit airbags that can turn a survivable crash into a fatal one. The episode shows how global manufacturing, online marketplaces, and weak repair oversight have combined to create a hard-to-police public safety problem.