Photo: Volvo
Takata Corporation, the company behind the world’s largest airbag recall, might have to start another such action.
According to several sources close to the matter, Takata will be pressured by US regulators to recall an additional 35 to 40 million airbag inflators from vehicles sold in the United States of America. The expanded recall campaign will probably affect several automakers, and it’s likely to span over several years.
Considering that Takata is already responsible for the largest automotive safety recall in US history, we expect the new one to take many years to complete. We are making this assumption based on the fact that many of the vehicles involved in the first Takata airbag inflator callback have not been fixed yet.
According to Automotive News, the new recall is still related to airbag inflators, but this time, it involves a different issue. Apparently, Takata will have to change all units they suspect have been shipped without a drying agent.
Because the important chemical compound is missing from the inflators, the propellant inside them might deploy with too much force and rupture its metal container. There is also a possibility that the inflators will operate improperly without the drying agent.
As in the case of the previous recall, the metal container of the airbag inflator could be ruptured, and occupants could be fatally struck with metal shards. Ten people have died in the USA after crashing in vehicles with defective Takata airbags, and over 100 individuals were injured because of them.
Last November, Takata reached an agreement with the NHTSA to call back all their airbags containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The only way for the Japanese company not to be forced to change those inflators would be to prove the compound is safe by 2019. According to the NHTSA, Takata delivered around 85 million ammonium nitrate airbag inflators which they have not recalled.
To date, 14 automakers have recalled 24 million vehicles sold in the USA and have replaced 28.8 million defective airbag inflators built by Takata. The new recall targets around 35 million airbag inflators and it will replace passenger-side inflators and “some driver-side airbags,” both without the drying agent.
As it turns out, some of the airbag inflators used to replace the defective ones might lack the drying agent. This would lead to an expansion of the recall, as some owners would have to bring their cars again to the dealers for another airbag replacement.
Considering that Takata is already responsible for the largest automotive safety recall in US history, we expect the new one to take many years to complete. We are making this assumption based on the fact that many of the vehicles involved in the first Takata airbag inflator callback have not been fixed yet.
According to Automotive News, the new recall is still related to airbag inflators, but this time, it involves a different issue. Apparently, Takata will have to change all units they suspect have been shipped without a drying agent.
Because the important chemical compound is missing from the inflators, the propellant inside them might deploy with too much force and rupture its metal container. There is also a possibility that the inflators will operate improperly without the drying agent.
As in the case of the previous recall, the metal container of the airbag inflator could be ruptured, and occupants could be fatally struck with metal shards. Ten people have died in the USA after crashing in vehicles with defective Takata airbags, and over 100 individuals were injured because of them.
Last November, Takata reached an agreement with the NHTSA to call back all their airbags containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The only way for the Japanese company not to be forced to change those inflators would be to prove the compound is safe by 2019. According to the NHTSA, Takata delivered around 85 million ammonium nitrate airbag inflators which they have not recalled.
To date, 14 automakers have recalled 24 million vehicles sold in the USA and have replaced 28.8 million defective airbag inflators built by Takata. The new recall targets around 35 million airbag inflators and it will replace passenger-side inflators and “some driver-side airbags,” both without the drying agent.
As it turns out, some of the airbag inflators used to replace the defective ones might lack the drying agent. This would lead to an expansion of the recall, as some owners would have to bring their cars again to the dealers for another airbag replacement.
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