Takata Expands Airbag Recall as Tests Show More Risks
David Wagman | July 12, 2017Takata is adding a new type of airbag inflator to what has grown to become the U.S.’s largest automotive recall.
The company filed documents with the U.S. government adding 2.7 million vehicles to the recall from Ford, Nissan and Mazda, all with a type of inflator that previously was thought to be safe. The affected vehicles are from the 2005 through 2012 model years.
The inflators have caused the largest automotive recall in U.S. history with 42 million vehicles and up to 69 million inflators being called back for repairs.
Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to inflate air bags. The chemical can deteriorate when exposed to high airborne humidity and high temperatures. Previously the company believed that a drying agent called a desiccant stopped the chemical from degrading.
But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that tests done by Takata show that a type of desiccated inflator “will pose a safety risk if not replaced.” News reports quote the agency as saying that it has no reports of any inflators with the desiccant rupturing.
In late June Takata Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Japan, and said it would be bought for $1.6 billion by U.S.-based Key Safety Systems, which is owned by a Chinese firm.
Takata Americas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on June 25 with reported liabilities of $10 billion to $50 billion. The Japanese parent and other subsidiaries filed for protection with the Tokyo District Court on June 26.
(Read "Airbag Recall Tests Global Supply Chain.")
Nissan said the newest recall affects just over 515,000 Versa subcompact hatchbacks and sedans from the 2007 through 2012 model years. Mazda said its recall covers about 6,000 B-Series trucks from 2007 through 2009. Ford, which has the most vehicles involved in the latest recall, is reviewing the information and will file a list of models within limits set by law.
Takata said in documents filed with the safety agency that it tested inflators returned from Nissan and Ford vehicles which use calcium sulfate as a drying agent. Although none of the inflators blew apart, some showed a pattern of deterioration in the ammonium nitrate propellant over time “that is understood to predict a future risk of inflator rupture.”
NHTSA said in a statement that not all Takata inflators with a desiccant are being recalled. Takata used different drying agents in other inflators, the agency said.
The agency is urging people whose inflators have been recalled to get them replaced as soon as possible. To find out if your car or truck is part of the recall, go to https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and key in the 17-digit vehicle identification number.