As of September 24, eBay has prohibited all sellers from listing and selling automotive airbags and inflators. The restriction also applies to individual steering wheel airbag covers. The company explained the decision by the results of a risk assessment related to this category of goods. 

The reason is the difficulty of verifying the origin of used and non-original components. In April, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 12 accidents in which defective inflators likely caused 10 deaths and two serious injuries. At least one such component was purchased through eBay. 

An airbag is not an ordinary interior part. In a collision, a pyrotechnic gas generator inflates the airbag with gas in fractions of a second. If the inflator housing or mechanism is defective, metal fragments can enter the cabin upon deployment.

However, eBay is not closing the sale of all SRS system electronics. In the U.S., pre-approved sellers will be able to offer control units, impact sensors, diagnostic modules, and passenger sensors.

eBay's decision is also important for the used car market: after an accident, it will now be more difficult to install an airbag of unknown origin. Similar restrictions are already in effect on Amazon, Alibaba, and Temu.

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