Takata airbag recall to expand by 35 mn

04 May 2016

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Regulators are expected to announce today that at least 35 million additional airbags made by Takata would need to be fixed, The New York Times reported citing a person briefed on the matter.

The announcement would more than double what was already the largest automotive recall in US history.

The airbags are known to explode unexpectedly, sending metal parts hurtling into the cabin. At least 11 deaths had been reported worldwide, linked to the defect.

The expansion would up the figure of defective Takata airbags to at least 63 million in the US, possibly affecting nearly one in four of the 250 million vehicles on US roads.

The issue is tied to a compound called ammonium nitrate, which could become unstable over time or on exposure to moisture. Takata had been struggling with the composition of the compound over the years. The company finally added a drying agent to make it more stable. The new recalls focused on airbags that did not have the drying agent.

According to Scott Upham, founder and chief executive of the automotive consulting firm Valient Market Research, the wider recall was an admission by Takata that its use of ammonium nitrate, a cheap, but potent, compound more often used at large-scale sites like coal mines was a safety risk, The New York Times reported.

US auto safety regulators, in November, fined the company $200 million, $70 million for mishandling the manner in which it recalled the millions of air bag inflaters and an additional $130 million if its settlement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is violated.

NHTSA had created a number of online resources to help consumers whose vehicle might have a defective air bag made by Takata.

The NHTSA has created a website dedicated to the Takata recalls: http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/index.html. According to the NHTSA the website would contain regular updates, recall lists, and information on the status of the Takata recalls and its investigation.

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