On Wednesday, officials of the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned thousands of car and truck drivers about counterfeit airbags installed in their vehicles.

In their warning to the motorists, the NHTSA officials said that the hazardous bogus airbags fitted in their vehicles may not inflate in case of a collision; and advised that, as a precautionary measure, the motorists should have the airbags replaced at their own cost.

Pointing out that approximately 0.1 percent of the vehicle fleet in the US - that is, nearly 250,000 cars - are those makes and models for which there is known availability of fake airbags, the NHTSA said that the motorists at maximum risk were the ones who have had the airbags of their vehicles replaced in the last three years at by a repair shop other than a new car dealership.

Further recommending that that motorists should visit the SaferCar. gov site to know whether their vehicle is affected by the fake airbags issue, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that any critical equipment meant for protecting drivers and passengers becomes a "serious safety concern" if it does not operate properly in case of an exigency.

In a Wednesday-released statement, LaHood said: "We want consumers to be immediately aware of this (fake airbags) problem and to review our safety information to see if their vehicle could be in need of inspection."