The Takata airbag scandal continues to claim lives more than two decades after it first emerged, yet a new airbag crisis with potentially similar repercussions is already unfolding, and it’s all to do with fake Chinese airbags. Some counterfeit airbags are exploding on deployment and hurling metal shrapnel into the cabin in the same way that the Takata airbags did, and NHTSA has linked them to multiple deaths.
But while one dealer has just admitted to illegally importing and installing counterfeit airbags, there are likely many more out there, making the true scale of the problem difficult to gauge.
Counterfeit Airbags Imported As Home Lighting
Mazda CX-5Mazda
John Bojorquez, a used-car dealer from Ohio, pleaded guilty last week to trafficking at least 44 counterfeit airbags. He sourced the airbags from China, which were marked as genuine Honda parts and in one case shipped in boxes that labeled them as desktop night lights. US Customs and Border Protection officers seized about 20 of them in August 2024 when the shipment arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Agents later discovered additional counterfeit airbags during a 2025 search of Bojorquez’s dealership, JB Ohio Auto Sale, just outside Columbus. Some were hidden under a towel inside a clothes hamper. Bojorquez, 35, has not yet been sentenced. According to the US Attorney’s Office, trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal crime that carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
What’s Known About The Counterfeit Airbags?
2002 Ford Escape Interior Passenger Airbag Off ButtonFord
Federal officials were already warning about Chinese airbags last year, specifically naming Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co., which operates under the DTN Airbag brand. The company, which produces airbag inflators, the component that produces the gas that expands the airbag, potentially causing an explosion if the part is defective, responded at the time by saying it does not sell its products in the US. The NHTSA nevertheless cited DTN-linked airbags for a series of fatal crashes, and the agency banned the sale and import of the airbags in April.
There is a huge price difference between genuine and counterfeit replacement parts, with some counterfeit airbag replacements costing as little as $100, while a genuine item can cost more than $1,000. The scale of the problem has also been growing. In 2024, US Customs seized at least 490 counterfeit airbag inflators being imported into the country, more than 10 times the number seized in 2023. And despite the April ban, another fatality blamed on a DTN-linked airbag was reported only last month (August), bringing the US death toll to 11.
CarBuzz Insights – Why This Matters
It remains unknown how many vehicles that moved through Bojorquez’s dealership may now carry a counterfeit airbag, underscoring just how hard it is to measure the full reach of these illegal parts once they enter the aftermarket. Because the components were installed after the cars left the factory, standard recall checks and VIN lookups offer little protection. But you can be certain Bojorquez isn’t the only dealer peddling these counterfeit pieces of safety equipment.
The NHTSA advises buyers and owners to pull a vehicle history report, watch for any prior airbag deployments, and have a trusted mechanic inspect the car before purchase. Stick to reputable repair shops and manufacturer dealerships, ask specifically about the brand and origin of replacement parts.
