Takata Agrees To Airbag Recall

Japan-based Takata Corp has reportedly agreed to an airbag recall for more than 34 million vehicles due to defects in the device, federal transportation officials revealed.

The company agreed to the recall of the vehicles amid fines and increasing pressure from federal authorities. A $14,000-a-day fine was imposed on the manufacturer since February. The amount has already reached around $1.2 million. The heads of the National Traffic Safety Administration and Department of Transportation made the announcement about the agreement it reached with Takata on Tuesday.

The main issue revolves around the chemical used in inflating the airbags. When subjected to extreme pressure it can blow out the metal inflator, which can send metal fragments into the passenger compartment. Six deaths along with over 100 injuries around the world have been attributed to the defective inflators.

Takata Agrees To Airbag Recall - image credit: nytimes.com

The agreement to the airbag recall will result to a doubling of the number of vehicles already recalled. Around 17 million vehicles were recalled in the United States by eleven automobile manufacturers. Over 36 million units around the world were also recalled due to the issue.

While these figures are expected to increase due to the agreement, it remains uncertain which vehicle manufacturers will bear the brunt of the expanded recall. The airbag recall of Takata is much bigger than the recall of around 2.6 million General Motors vehicles due to a faulty ignition and the recall of Toyota of 10 million vehicles due to acceleration issues. It is comparable to the recall of 31 million Tylenol bottles in 1982.

Mark Rosekind, administrator of the NHTSA, revealed that investigators from the agency and the automobile industry have yet to determine the exact reason why the inflators explode. However, the agency is not waiting for the result of the investigation before it acts on the issue.

He said vehicle owners are anxious about their safety as well as that of their families. The recall is likely the most complicated consumer safety recall in the history of the United States, Rosekind added. Rosekind said it is necessary for vehicle owners to have their vehicles fixed once they get an airbag recall notice.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday May 20 2015, 10:07 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0