Takata Airbag Recall Grows by 12 Million Cars in the U.S.

Takata’s airbag recall in the U.S. has been expanded by 12 million vehicles in the U.S. with eight automakers announcing recalls, according to Automotive News. Honda will recall 4.5 million vehicles while FCA will recall 4.3 million cars in total. The original Takata airbag recalls involved driver’s side airbag inflators, and now a separate wave of recalls will address passenger-side airbags. Other automakers that will recall vehicles include Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, General Motors, and Ferrari.

Earlier this month, Takata declared that as many as 40 million airbag inflators are defective, affecting 17 automakers in total. Takata airbag inflators were originally recalled because they can explode with too much force, spraying metal shrapnel into the cabin. There have been 13 deaths and over 100 injuries linked to the defective airbag inflators. The newest recall, according to Takata and the automakers, does not have any reports of ruptures in the vehicles involved. Recalled cars are prioritized by age and the risk of exposure to high levels of humidity, which may lead to some vehicles not getting replacement inflators for a few years.

In the U.S., FCA is the latest automaker to recall vehicles due to defective Takata airbag inflators and has recently announced that it will call back 4.3 million vehicles to replace their front passenger airbag inflators. The automaker has stated it is unaware of any accidents or injuries regarding the faulty airbag inflators in its vehicles. Outside of the U.S., FCA estimates that another 933,000 of its vehicles are affected by the Takata airbag inflator recall, including models not sold in North America.

In Japan, the transport ministry has announced that automakers will recall an additional 7 million vehicles with Takata airbag inflators. According to a report from Reuters, The Japanese transport ministry’s latest announcement may cause Takata’s recall costs to rise if it’s found that the supplier is responsible for the defective inflators. Additionally, the transport ministry also found that the absence of desiccants could cause the ammonium nitrate in the airbag inflators to deteriorate if it’s exposed to temperature changes over an extended period of time.

Like the latest U.S. recall, the Japan recall covers passenger-side airbags, but the Japanese transport ministry wouldn’t comment on which automakers were affected. However, it did say that the number of automakers included may increase from the current 17.

Source: Reuters, Automotive News (Subscription required), FCA, NHTSA

 

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