GM issues recall over airbag shrapnel risk but doesn't have replacement parts

General Motors issued a safety recall over airbag inflators that can shoot shrapnel into drivers, but the automaker doesn't have replacement parts.

General Motors recently issued a safety recall over airbag inflators that can explode and shoot shrapnel into drivers, but the automaker doesn't have replacement parts.

"It's a thought in the back of my mind the whole time I'm driving," Jillian Grimes of Peterborough, Ont. told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Monday. "I have two young children, a three-year-old and an almost-one-year-old. And just knowing the possibility of the danger of the airbag going off and having this explosion with shrapnel is worrisome."

In June, Grimes received a letter explaining that her 2017 Chevrolet Traverse was part of a General Motors recall of 42,000 vehicles in Canada and nearly one million in the U.S. over airbag inflators that have been linked to at least seven injuries and two deaths, including a 2016 fatality in Canada.

Grimes contacted a local dealer and General Motors, which offered no answers.

"I was told on the phone by GM that I could rent a car until the parts are available, but it would be at my own expense," Grimes said. "I'm left with the decision: do we go into further debt for peace of mind and know that we're safe, or are we just going to wait to see if GM's going to do something about it, which so far they're not."

Meant to safely inflate airbags, the devices are made by Tennessee-based ARC Automotive Inc., which has rejected demands from U.S. regulators to recall millions of vehicles over a potential issue facing pre-2018 models from at least a dozen automakers.

When Grimes asked General Motors when replacement parts will become available, she says she was told that "engineers" are working on it.