According to documents filed with US transport regulators, eight automakers said Friday they were recalling 12 million vehicles linked to the defective Takata Corp. airbags.
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Fiat Chrysler recalled 4.3 million vehicles.
Friday’s recalls include passenger air bags mainly in older models in areas along the Gulf Coast with high heat and humidity.
Takata air bags can deploy with too much force, spewing shrapnel into the vehicle. At least 11 people have died worldwide and over 100 have been hurt. Honda earlier this month pointed to two fatal crashes in Malaysia in which air bags ruptured, though officials hadn’t yet determined causes of death.
The recalls are among the first to be unveiled by vehicle manufacturers since Takata agreed to the recall expansion.
The cost is expected to be a huge burden for the Tokyo-based company, which recorded a net loss of 13.08 billion yen in fiscal 2015, its second straight year of red ink, amid impact of the global recall of its air bag inflators.
As those of you who have followed the topic already know, Takata had to expand its airbag recall by several million vehicles after it discovered that some of its inflators were manufactured without a drying agent.
At least 2.3 million of the 12 million vehicles in the latest recall were subject to previous notices related to driver air bags. Those advisers said on Wednesday that they had hired investment bank Lazard to counsel on the financial restructuring.
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Selecting a financial sponsor would probably require discussion with Takata’s vehicle maker clients and stakeholders. However, it did say that the number of automakers included may increase from the current 17. The most up-to-date available consumer information about this action can be obtained at www.honda.ca/recalls and www.acura.ca/recalls or by calling (877) 445-7754 for Honda owners and (877) 445-9844 for Acura owners. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Don’t include URLs to Web sites. But these suggestions should be sent To avoid distracting other readers, we won’t publish comments that suggest a correction.
