Keystone Automotive, a subsidiary of LKQ Corporation, announced that it has completed the first phase of its testing of aftermarket reinforcement bars. Keystone reports that the tested aftermarket reinforcement bar satisfied Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (FMVSS 208) in a 35-mph frontal impact test.
“With these results using the government occupant crash protection standard, I think everyone in the industry, and the consumers of aftermarket parts, can feel good about the safety of this product,” said Robert Wagman, senior vice president – Wholesale Parts Division of LKQ.
Keystone engaged MGA Research Corporation, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted testing facility, to conduct a frontal impact crash test to measure driver and passenger injury in a Toyota Corolla equipped with a 2003-2008 aftermarket reinforcement bar to evaluate compliance with federal safety standards. Keystone says the aftermarket reinforcement bar had the same strength characteristics as the aftermarket part that was the subject of the November 2009 CIC demonstration by Toby Chess.
FMVSS 208 specifies performance requirements for test dummies seated in the front seats of passenger cars. The test conducted by MGA followed the NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) test procedure for frontal impact, which is 5 mph greater than the FMVSS 208 test speed.
Keystone says it will continue testing all of the remaining reinforcement bars that the company took off the market out of caution to compare their strength characteristics to the part tested by MGA.
More information:
• Keystone Automotive Temporarily Halts Sale of Certain A/M Bumper Reinforcements
• CRA Asks DOI to Trace Aftermarket Bumper Reinforcements Used in Claims
