To date, Takata has produced more than 14 million airbag replacement kits in North America alone, significantly more than the approximately 8 million inflators that have been returned to Takata as part of current USA safety campaigns.
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The expanded recall mainly covers inflators in front passenger air bags that do not have a chemical drying agent known as a desiccant.
“It is tough, because it’s such a massive recall that the parts aren’t available”, said Charles West, of West Chevrolet in Alcoa.
It was almost a year ago that Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata first acknowledged defects in its products and issued a recall that included 34 million vehicles.
The expanded recalls will take place in stages between now and the end of 2019 and will be based on prioritization of risk, which is determined by age and exposure to humidity and temperatures, Rosekind said.
The Japanese company is said to be cooperating in the recent probes, but NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said it had originally, “misled, obscured and withheld information from the NHTSA, consumers and their customers in the automotive industry”. “Our actions, including the expansion of product recalls to cover all non-desiccated frontal inflator models, demonstrate our total commitment to safety and our intention to be part of the solution and to restore the confidence of the driving public”.
Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create an explosion that inflates air bags in a crash.
“The acceleration of this recall is based on scientific evidence and will protect all Americans from air bag inflators that may become unsafe”, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. The new round of recalls to be announced this week was prompted by findings of three separate investigations into the rupture conducted by Honda Motor, the automaker most affected by the recalls; Takata; and a consortium of 10 automakers. Takata will continue to offer its best effort and cooperation towards the smooth implementation of the expanded recalls. But if the chemical degrades, it can burn too fast, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel into drivers and passengers. But it’s estimated to be 2019 before enough replacement airbags will be ready. It’s due to report earnings on Wednesday for the financial year through March. Its options include a gradual exit from the business or a partnership with one of the other manufacturers, he said. The focus of the new recall is airbags that do not have the drying agent.
That brings the global number of deaths linked to the defective devices to 13, as the US ordered the Japanese supplier to widen the scale of its recalls.
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The May 1 death occurred in a 2003 Honda City in Kedah state and also involved a driver’s side SDI inflator. The inflators suffered a rupture of some sort, though the specifics for the cause of death have yet to be disclosed.
