720 ILCS 5/17-11.2 – Airbag Fraud

720 ILCS 5/17-11.2 – Airbag Fraud

This law makes it a crime to knowingly make, sell, or install fake or non-working airbags in vehicles.

This Illinois law says it is illegal to create, sell, or install counterfeit or broken airbags or safety parts in cars. It also makes it illegal to trick people into thinking a car has working airbags when it does not.

(a) Definitions. This section explains what certain words mean:

“Airbag” means a part of a car’s safety system that inflates to protect people in a crash.

“Counterfeit supplemental restraint system component” means a fake car safety part, such as an airbag, that copies a real company’s logo or brand without permission.

“Non-functional airbag” means a replacement airbag that meets any of these conditions:

1. The airbag was already used or is damaged.
2. The airbag has an electrical problem found by the car’s computer system after it is installed or before ownership changes.
3. The airbag includes a part or object that tricks someone into thinking the airbag works when it does not.
4. The airbag falls under certain U.S. safety rules about recalled airbags.

“Supplemental restraint system” means the safety system that works with seat belts, including airbags and all parts that make sure the airbag works correctly. This includes:

1. The airbag works as designed in an accident.
2. The airbag meets federal safety standards for that car’s make, model, and year.

(b) A person commits airbag fraud if they knowingly and for payment do any of the following:

1. Make, bring into the country, sell, offer, install, or reinstall any fake, non-working, or unsafe airbag or safety part in a car.
2. Sell, offer, install, or reinstall any device that makes a car’s computer falsely show that the airbag is working.
3. Sell, lease, trade, or give away a vehicle knowing it has a fake or non-working airbag, or a safety part that fails to meet safety standards.

(c) This law does not apply to car owners or dealership employees who did not know that a car had a fake or non-working airbag before selling it.

(d) Sentence: Breaking this law is a Class A misdemeanor.

View the full statute here.

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