The addition of 7 million cars to the Takata recall comes after the USA transport authorities chose to expand the recall of air bag inflators made by the Japanese supplier, resulting in an additional 35-40 million products being withdrawn from the US market. In a statement today, Japan’s government announced that another 7 million vehicles with Takata inflators will be recalled in Japan over safety concerns. That can blow apart a metal canister created to contain the explosion, spewing hot shrapnel into vehicles.
Advertisement
The defective inflators have been the cause of 13 deaths and at least 100 injuries.
Honda had the biggest recall total on Friday with more than 4.5 million inflators, while Fiat Chrysler reported 4.3 million.
Over the past few years, a great many vehicles have been recalled as part of global failure of the widely used Takata airbag inflators.
Takata is in talks with several investors regarding a financial bailout.
The two automakers said the recalls include some discontinued Saab and Pontiac vehicles assembled for General Motors Co (GM.N). The automaker has stated it is unaware of any accidents or injuries regarding the faulty airbag inflators in its vehicles.
Takata may face still more vehicle recalls. Seventeen automakers are adding 35 million-to-40 million inflators to what already was the largest auto recall in USA history.
Automakers find it hard to obtain replacement parts and to convince owners to get the needed repairs.
No new driver front airbag inflators in Honda or Acura automobiles will be subject to recall as a result of this action, as all potentially affected driver inflators are already subject to prior recalls.
Advertisement
In November, Takata agreed to pay a $70 million fine for safety violations and NHTSA named a former federal prosecutor as an independent monitor to oversee the massive recalls.
