The government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants the Japanese company to agree to a recall that could more than double the 28.8 million Takata inflators that already must be replaced, according to the people who requested anonymity because talks are still ongoing.
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US safety regulators are expected to announce Wednesday that Japanese air bag maker Takata will recall over 35 million more air bag inflators that can potentially explode with too much force and injure people.
“People who receive notification that there is a remedy available for their vehicle should act immediately to have their inflator fixed”, NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said.
NHTSA says it made the decision after confirming the findings of three independent investigations into exploding airbag inflators, the metal canisters that fracture during airbag deployment.
The bags – manufactured by Japan-based Takata Corp. and installed in more than a dozen auto brands, including Honda, Nissan, GM, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen – are prone to rupture, spewing metal shrapnel from the inflator into the cab.
He said the recall would be carried out in phases, based on the age of the inflators and the degree to which they have been exposed to the high humidity and fluctuating high temperatures that accelerate the degradation of the chemical propellant. The recall now affects more than 50 million vehicles overall. To check if your auto is under recall, go to safercar.gov. VIN numbers of the newly recalled vehicles will be added in the next few weeks. That’s why replacement parts are being targeted to areas such as the U.S. Gulf Coast, although numerous cars have been recalled nationwide. Hanif’s airbag was under recall, Honda confirmed, but in a news conference, her brother asserted the family had never received a recall notice.
Taken together, virtually all major automakers are affected by the recall in some capacity.
The first airbags covered in the new recall will be those in hot and humid climates which would have shorter lifespans-generally the southern part of the United States-along with the oldest airbags in service in any region.
“This agreement with NHTSA is consistent with our desire to work with regulators and our automaker customers to develop long-term, orderly solutions to these important safety issues”, Shigehisa Takada, Takata’s chairman and chief executive officer, said.
Huma Hanif, 17, became the 10th American to die from an exploding Takata air bag March 31, when one malfunctioned after her auto hit another vehicle at an intersection in suburban Houston.
“We are not satisfied with the recall rate”, he said.
NHTSA officials said vehicles younger than six years old are not now at risk even if they are in a high humidity region. Automakers also face difficulty in contacting owners and getting them to take their faulty cars to dealers for repairs. “The science clearly shows these inflators can become more risky over time”. Those air bags contain a chemical desiccant that absorbs moisture.
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Inflators with the drying agent have not been recalled because none has ruptured due to problems with ammonium nitrate, NHTSA said.
