Federal automotive regulators say air bag inflators made by a Chinese company have killed 10 people and seriously injured two others in the U.S. and that it’s considering a ban on their sales here.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking public comment on the potential ban until April 17. It’s unclear what role a ban would play since the agency says the bags linked to the deaths and injuries were likely imported illegally.

It urged shoppers of used vehicles to research prospects’ histories to make sure they have genuine air bag inflators. Otherwise, the vehicles shouldn’t be driven until their inflators are replaced with such.

“A vehicle should be inspected if it was in a previous crash with an air bag deployment since 2020 and was not repaired by one of the manufacturer’s dealerships,” NHTSA said. “If a vehicle has been in a previous crash where the air bag deployed, it should be inspected by a reputable mechanic immediately to ensure the air bag is a legitimate replacement equivalent to the original.”

The deaths and injuries occurred across a dozen crashes in the past three years as front driver air bag inflators exploded upon impact rather than inflating the air bags, according to the agency.

Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Co., or DTN, made the suspect air bags, which exploded in Chevrolet Malibus and Hyundai Sonatas, said NHTSA, though the agency added it can’t confirm other models aren’t at risk of having defective inflators.

In the crashes NHTSA investigators examined, the air bag inflators exploded, sending metal shards flying through the vehicles’ interiors, similar to the Takata air bags linked to several dozen people’s deaths. The agency said the DTN inflators hit the vehicles' drivers in the chest, neck, face and eyes.

The NHTSA said it’s still investigating the pattern and how many of the air bag inflators were imported illegally.

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