Dear Air Bag Purchaser or Installer:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is aware that counterfeit air bags (commonly referred to as “knock-offs”), present a potential safety risk to consumers. In appearance, counterfeit air bags are nearly exact copies of genuine original manufacturer air bags and they often display the manufacturer’s logo of the genuine air bag they are meant to imitate. However, a counterfeit air bag does not function as a genuine original manufacturer air bag. A recent NHTSA test of a counterfeit air bag revealed that the air bag exploded, expelling metal shrapnel into the test dummy. Please see our test video at www.safercar.gov.
Counterfeit air bags have been sold on eBay by Igor Borodin (DBA Krugger Auto LLC) of North Carolina using the seller IDs “
airbag_pros” and “
borodin1985.” Records made available to NHTSA indicate that you have purchased from Mr. Borodin or his company one or more air bags that we believe
are counterfeit. As such,
NHTSA strongly recommends that the air bag be removed from the vehicle in which it was installed and be replaced with a genuine original manufacturer air bag. NHTSA recommends that you contact the manufacturer of your vehicle or a dealership to identify legitimate sources of an original manufacturer air bag for your vehicle. For additional information on counterfeit air bags, see: www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/Counterfeit+Air+Bags+General+Information.
If you are a consumer who purchased an air bag from Borodin and had someone install it into your vehicle, we ask that you provide us with the vehicle identification number or VIN, make and model of that vehicle. If you are a repair facility and you installed the air bag into a customer’s vehicle, we ask that you immediately contact your customer to arrange for the replacement of the air bag. We also request that you provide us with the VIN, make and model of the vehicle in which the air bag was installed. You may do so by return e-mail (AirBagInfo@dot.gov), by contacting the NHTSA Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (Hearing Impaired (TTY): 1-800-424-9153), or by using the online vehicle safety complaint form at https://www-odi.nhts...nt/index.xhtml.Please note that you are receiving this notice as a precaution against injuries to you or one of your customers due to the malfunction of a counterfeit air bag. Your purchase of a counterfeit air bag is not under investigation by NHTSA. Safety is the number one priority for NHTSA and we are deeply committed to keeping drivers and passengers safe on our roadways. We await your response to this e-mail and are available to answer any questions that you may have.
NHTSA Counterfeit Air Bag Team