HMC Honda Motor Co Ltd

WASHINGTON—U.S. lawmakers pressed Takata Corp. on ruptures in newer air-bag inflaters, adding to intensifying scrutiny of the Japanese automotive supplier.

The Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday sent a letter to Chairman and Chief Executive Shigehisa Takada raising concerns over whether explosions in the newer air bags are linked to other ruptures in older inflaters on some 19 million recalled vehicles.

Older air bags employing ammonium nitrate have been linked to eight deaths world-wide from unintended ruptures that can send shrapnel flying into vehicle cabins. Takata and regulators have pointed to long-term exposure to humid climates as a main contributor to the ruptures.

But Sens. John Thune (R., S.D.) and Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) pointed to a side air-bag rupture in a newer Volkswagen sport utility vehicle in June and General Motors Co.'s recall this month of roughly 400 recent vehicle models after a side air bag failed a test in a Mexico factory. The senators requested additional information on the newer inflaters by Nov. 13.

A Takata spokesman said the company is investigating the newer ruptures, which it believes are unrelated to previous recalls. The company is cooperating with regulators and auto makers to get repairs done faster on older air bags and has produced more than nine million replacement kits so far, the spokesman said.

The pressure from Capitol Hill came on the same day federal auto-safety regulators at a public information meeting presented findings as they lean toward an unprecedented order to speed recalls of 23 million rupture-prone air-bag inflaters installed on 19 million vehicles. Mark Rosekind, administrator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on Thursday said the agency would decide whether to issue the order by Thanksgiving.

The agency's investigators Thursday said they had added the newer Takata air-bag inflaters to a broader ongoing probe.

Regulators are poised to take control of the current Takata recall that spans a dozen auto makers. Five of them—Honda Motor Co., BMW AG, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.—account for 14 million of the recalled vehicles and 18 million of the inflaters, regulators said. The recall is among the largest and most complex in U.S. history, with consumers in some cases needing to replace two air bags and receive intermediate repairs before visiting a dealership again for a final fix.

Auto makers so far have addressed 22.5% of the affected models, up from 18% in mid-August, with repairs lagging in some instances because of apathetic consumers fatigued from increased recalls and limited parts supplies. "These remedy completion rates are simply not good enough to address the risk these inflaters pose to the driving public," said Jennifer Timian, the NHTSA recall management division chief, at U.S. Transportation Department headquarters.

Regulators are leaning toward issuing a special directive to car makers and suppliers to prioritize certain repairs, meet government deadlines for providing replacement parts and increase the number of repair centers for fixing the air bags.

The agency said nearly one in 10 ruptures have proved lethal. The recalls trace back to 2008.

Regulators also urged consumers to avoid buying air-bag inflaters online and stick to authorized dealerships for repairs. Florida law-enforcement officials have detailed to regulators an underground network of thieves looking to profit by nabbing inflaters from junk yards and then selling them, said Mr. Rosekind, the NHTSA chief.

Regulators to a degree are preparing to insert themselves into private manufacturing operations to speed the recalls, a move that could prove controversial. Manufacturers often employ just-in-time systems to minimize costs, boost efficiency and ensure quality.

Mr. Rosekind said ensuring quality repairs will be among the issues regulators weigh in coming weeks. But he said the responsibility would rest with manufacturers. He signaled an intention to act.

"If there wasn't coordination, this could be chaos," he said, adding the agency intends to work with manufacturers. "There is, frankly, enough confusion, as it is. If we were just letting this happen at…its own pace, who knows what would be happening?"

Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2015 13:55 ET (17:55 GMT)

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