More than 8 million airbags have been replaced with the existing recalls.
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The decision came after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that the inflators are prone to ruptures that have been tied to 13 deaths worldwide, and adds to almost 29 million Takata airbags already recalled. “NHTSA will continue to evaluate all available research and will act quickly to protect safety”. The total number of Takata airbag inflators to be replaced has gone up to approximately 69 million.
In the USA, the defective inflators have been linked to ten deaths and more than 100 injuries.
“Honda has confirmed that the Takata single stage driver’s airbag inflators ruptured in two crashes in April and May respectively in Malaysia”, Honda Malaysia said in a statement Wednesday. Older model cars, as well as those in locations with year-round heat and humidity, are thought to be at the greatest risk. Inflators inside the air bags can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel into the vehicle. The airbags are spread across 22 different brands of cars and trucks.
Q. Which cars are most at risk?
If the ammonium nitrate degrades substantially, it can cause the inflators to become over-pressurized and rupture during air bag deployment.
A researcher hired by a coalition of automakers said in February that moisture seeping into Takata’s inflators was determined to be the reason that the airbags may rupture. Bill Nelson in a statement Wednesday. “If we wait another three or four years for these to get replaced, more people are likely to die”, he said. “The science now clearly shows that these inflators can become unsafe over time”.
“I fully understand the frustration”, he said.
The new recall affects vehicles manufactured by Jaguar-Land Rover, Fisker, and Tesla Motors for the first time. “If there was any way [NHTSA] could [require] that, we would”, he said.
In both accidents, Honda found that repairs had not been made on both cars involved in the crashes despite being under recall to fix faulty Takata inflators. By some estimates, nearly one-fourth of all USA vehicles on the road could be affected by the recall. He also urged those waiting for parts to contact dealerships every month to keep up the pressure on them. They have yet to definitively link the deaths to the airbags.
The message said the company was “providing complete support” for the recall and working “restore trust” in the company’s products.
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The move is in addition to the 28.8 million inflators Takata had previously recalled in the US, affecting vehicles made by 12 different manufacturers including Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.
