The NHTSA is taking a closer look at the incident with the 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan because it does not fit the pattern of vehicles that were recalled due to exploding Takata air bags.
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The investigation into deadly Takata air bags has taken a new turn that, if it bears out, could lead to yet another further expansion of what has become one of the largest recalls in automotive history.
Takata has said that the chemical is one of many contributing factors into the air bag ruptures, along with defective manufacturing processes.
Takata has produced 887,055 airbag inflators for VW since January 2011, and a combined 184,926 units for Tesla since January 2012, and the two companies are ongoing customers, Takata said in a letter last month to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In the June 7 crash near St. Louis, the left side air bag inflated in a 2015 VW Tiguan, blowing apart a metal canister.
“This directly undercuts Takata’s continued insistence – despite growing evidence to the contrary – that the flaws in its air bag inflators are limited to prior designs in older model cars and only present when the air bags have prolonged exposure to extremely humid conditions”, the senators said. Deadline for a reply is August. 24.
Jared Levy, a spokesman for Takata, said that the company is involved with the NHTSA in the investigation of the incident, with Levy adding that it is believed to be unrelated to the previously issued recalls. The driver of the Tiguan did not report any injuries after the incident. The agency also asked Takata to list all the air bags that it manufactured that contains ammonium nitrate. He said he didn’t know how many other VW vehicles have Takata air bags or for how long the company has used Takata air bags.
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The investigation could revolve around airbags that use ammonium nitrate as a propellant to inflate the bags. Takata says most of the problems have happened in areas with high humidity, mainly along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
