The Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council (A2C2) — which includes 11 automakers and their brands — is asking eBay to halt the sale of all supplemental restraint system (SRS) airbags and components on eBay.com, calling it the only effective way of preventing the sale of dangerous counterfeit airbags on the site.

According to testing conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), A2C2 said counterfeit airbags have shown consistent malfunctions ranging from non-deployment to the expulsion of metal shrapnel during deployment.

While counterfeit airbags are typically comprised completely of counterfeit components, A2C2 pointed out that another variety of counterfeit airbags have been found to be comprised of certain used OEM components cobbled together with counterfeit components so as to appear to be complete OEM airbags.

For example, officials said an inflator from one vehicle may be combined with an airbag from a different vehicle, shielded by a counterfeit airbag cover.

In October 2012, A2C2 noted that NHTSA issued a consumer advisory alerting vehicle owners and repair professionals to the dangers of counterfeit airbags and their prevalence in the marketplace.

Since then, other federal law enforcement agencies have issued similar notices, according to an A2C2 news release.

“These fake airbags are notoriously difficult to spot, often appearing nearly identical to genuine, original equipment parts, but in the most tragic cases they can result in catastrophic failures with fatal consequences,” A2C2 president Teena Bohi in the news release. “For this reason, A2C2 has consistently advocated for e-commerce platforms to ban the listing of all airbags and related SRS components on their sites.”

Since its inception in 2015, A2C2 said it has worked to protect consumers by meeting with e-commerce marketplaces to convey the dangers of allowing the online sale of airbags and related components, while providing examples of the counterfeits for sale on those sites.

A2C2 added that it has engaged directly with eBay executives on this topic since 2017.

“While several ecommerce platforms have responded by enacting a broad sales prohibition of all airbags and airbag components to address the growing problem, eBay has not followed suit,” the association said. “Instead, eBay continues to permit the sale of airbags on its site, which allows the sale of completely counterfeit airbags and those incorporating cobbled components, as shown in recent law enforcement investigations.

“Even recalled airbags have been identified for sale on eBay. This also violates eBay’s own policies prohibiting the listing and sale of combustible and recalled goods, and hazardous materials that are banned by shipping providers — airbags are both combustible and banned for shipment by the U.S. Postal Service,” A2C2 went on to say.

A2C2 is a non-profit association comprised of members from Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America and their subsidiary brands.

“Our position remains that a complete sales prohibition on SRS airbags and components is the only effective solution to prevent the sale of counterfeits on eBay, and we strongly urge eBay to make this change immediately for the safety of our shared customers,” the association said.