Takata Air-Bag Recalls Could Expand to Seven More Companies
September 28 2015 - 9:20PM
Dow Jones News
DETROIT—Seven more companies including electric-car maker Tesla
Motors Inc. could be facing recalls because they use air-bag
inflaters made by Takata Corp., according to letters they received
last week from U.S. safety regulators.
So far about 23.4 million Takata driver and passenger air-bag
inflaters have been recalled on 19.2 million U.S. vehicles sold by
11 companies, including Honda Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles NV. The inflaters can explode with too much force,
spewing metal shrapnel. At least eight people have died world-wide,
and hundreds have been injured because of the problem.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent letters
to Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar-Land Rover, Suzuki Motor Corp., Tesla,
Volvo Trucks, Volkswagen AG and Spartan Motors Inc. seeking
information on which models have Takata inflaters.
"It is expected that the scope of the current Takata recalls may
expand as time goes on and will likely grow to include vehicles
that are outside the scope of the current recalls," the letters
said.
NHTSA said one purpose of the letters was to figure out how many
additional vehicles might have to be recalled. The agency is
preparing for an Oct. 22 public meeting in Washington, D.C., to
discuss a continuing investigation into Takata and whether the
agency will take over management of all the recalls to speed up
repairs. As of Sept. 1, only 4.4 million air-bag inflaters had been
replaced. Auto makers have had to scramble to get parts.
The agency said it also could issue an order expanding the
recalls, which now cover 11 auto and truck companies including BMW,
Daimler Trucks, Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co.,
Honda, Mazda Motor Corp., Mitsubishi, Nissan Motor Co., Subaru and
Toyota Motor Corp.
NHTSA is asking each of the seven additional companies to
identify every model that uses a Takata air bag inflater with
ammonium nitrate as the propellant. The letters say Takata's theory
on the cause of the problem is that the chemical degrades over
time. This "could potentially lead to overaggressive combustion or
potentially cause the inflater to rupture." Time, temperature and
airborne moisture also play roles in the problem, the letters
say.
The agency already was investigating Volkswagen because of a
June crash involving an SUV near St. Louis in which the left side
air bag inflated with too much force and blew apart the inflater
canister. The crash between a deer and a 2015 VW Tiguan was the
first reported in a Volkswagen and the first in a side air bag.
Previously Takata had said the problem was limited to older designs
in front and passenger air bags.
VW said at the time that the Tiguan driver didn't seek medical
attention, and it was working with NHTSA and Takata to better
understand the problem. The company wouldn't comment further on
Monday.
Mercedes, Jaguar-Land Rover and Tesla all said the Takata air
bags they use aren't part of current recalls, but wouldn't say
which models had them. Mercedes and Jaguar-Land Rover said they
were cooperating with NHTSA.
Messages were left Monday seeking comment from the rest of the
companies that received letters from NHTSA.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 28, 2015 21:05 ET (01:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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