Takata doubling US recall for faulty air bags to 34 million vehicles

By REUTERS | 20 May 2015


WASHINGTON/DETROIT: Japanese air bag maker Takata Corp is doubling a recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, creating the largest automotive recall in American history, US safety regulators said on Tuesday.

The recall involves passenger and driver-side air bag inflators in vehicles made by 11 automakers, the US Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Takata said. It expands on the 16.6 million vehicles called back for repairs for the same issue in previous regional and national recalls, and boosts the number of vehicles affected globally since 2008 to more than 53 million.

Regulators on Tuesday linked six deaths worldwide to defective Takata air bags which exploded with too much force and sent shrapnel into the vehicles.

Takata chief executive Shigehisa Takada said in a statement: "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with NHTSA, which represents a clear path forward." The company declined to say whether markets outside the United States would be affected.

It was only under pressure from US regulators that Takata agreed to the expanded recall. It had previously resisted expanding the recalls, saying the defect cited by automakers was not "officially recognized." Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd  and Honda Motor Co Ltd had expanded their Takata recalls over the past week.

The automakers have said they decided to proceed with their recalls after finding some Takata air bag inflators were not sealed properly, allowing moisture to seep in to the propellant casing. Moisture damages the propellant and can lead to an inflator exploding with too much force, shooting shrapnel inside the vehicle.

The six deaths linked to the defective air bags have all occurred in cars made by Honda, which has borne the brunt of the Takata recalls to date. Honda gave a disappointing profit forecast last month due to higher costs related to quality fixes.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said NHTSA also issued a consent order to Takata, requiring the supplier to cooperate in the safety agency's ongoing probe as well as any oversight.

NHTSA also said it will "organise and prioritize the replacement of defective Takata inflators" under its legal authority. This is the first time the safety agency has used this power since 2000, when Congress granted it under the TREAD Act.

"We will not stop our work until every air bag is replaced," Foxx said.

Foxx and NHTSA's new administrator, Mark Rosekind, have been aggressive in tackling auto safety issues. On Monday, NHTSA escalated a running regulatory battle with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, saying it could impose "multiple penalties" on the automaker and order a public hearing to examine FCA's handling of 20 recalls affecting more than 10 million vehicles.

NHTSA had slapped Takata in February with a US$14,000 per-day fine for failing to fully cooperate with a probe, but Rosekind said that was suspended for now.

Takata's recall will cost the supplier and its automaker customers an estimated US$4 billion to US$5 billion, said Scott Upham, president of Valient Market Research, which tracks the air bag industry.

Takata has said it expects to return to profit this financial year, but its chief financial officer told analysts last week it would not set aside more cash to pay for the expanding recalls.

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