Volkswagen told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the crash on July 15, and the agency began investigating. The incident took place on June 7 in Missouri.
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Two U.S. senators today are calling on auto supplier Takata to voluntarily recall all vehicles with their air bags following reports that a side air bag canister exploded two months ago in a 2015 Volkeswagen Tiguan. The air bag of the vehicle ruptured after the driver struck a deer, according to Mark Gillies, a spokesman for Volkswagen.
“In light of the most recent incident, which did not occur in one of the regions originally designated as “high humidity”, and which involved a 2015 vehicle not now subject to recall, we urge you to voluntarily recall, all, vehicles containing Takata airbags”, the senators’ letter concluded.
U.S. safety regulators earlier this week ordered VW and Takata to provide information on the June rupture. But taking Takata’s history into account some worry a whole other piece to the Takata recall is emerging.
“Takata’s defective airbags have already caused at least eight deaths and more than one-hundred injuries in the United States – numbers that may increase as further cases come to light – and it is essential for your company to do all it can to identify and address the cause of this problem”.
With regard to the NHTSA’s investigation, Takata spokesman Jared Levy said the company is cooperating with the agency, and is also probing the incident itself. The Tiguan driver did not seek medical attention, although Gillies did not know if he was cut by flying shrapnel from the inflator.
A statement from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executive said the company is now using alternate inflator design without ammonium nitrate as propellant from ZF TRW Automotive. The VW order asks for a list of all vehicles ever made by the company with air baginflators that used ammonium nitrate as a propellant.
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Of the vehicles under recall for Takata air bag problems, the newest are from the 2011 model year.
