Toyota Recalls 5.8 Million Vehicles With Faulty Takata Air Bags
October 26 2016 - 4:20AM
Dow Jones News
TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling 5.8
million vehicles around the world equipped with faulty air bags
manufactured by Takata Corp.
The air bags lack a drying agent to prevent the buildup of
moisture, a flaw blamed for air-bag explosions that spray shrapnel
into vehicle cabins—a problem linked to more than a dozen deaths
and over 100 injuries globally.
The recall includes 1.16 million vehicles in Japan, 1.47 million
in Europe and 820,000 in China produced between April 2006 and
December 2014, Toyota said in an emailed statement. The latest
recall announcement doesn't include models sold in the U.S., where
Toyota has already announced a recall of cars made during the same
period, the company said.
The recall includes a second round of recalls of around 20,000
vehicles first recalled in 2010. Those vehicles, produced between
May 2000 and November 2001, had faulty Takata air bags replaced
with a new set that still lacked a drying agent. The latest recall
will install air bags that have the drying agent.
The defective air bags become riskier as they age. Takata uses
ammonium nitrate in its inflaters, a chemical that can become
unstable with prolonged exposure to moisture and heat.
Contacted by phone, a Takata spokesman didn't immediately have a
comment on the latest recalls.
In June, some auto makers admitted to equipping new vehicles
with rupture-prone Takata air bags that lacked a drying agent.
Those vehicles will have to be recalled by the end of 2018.
The latest recalls are part of a larger effort by more than a
dozen auto makers to replace tens-of-millions of faulty Takata air
bags. The total number of air bags to be recalled is expected reach
70 million in the U.S. alone.
Takata is expected to reimburse car makers for at least a
portion of the recall costs. It is looking for a buyer to provide
it the cash infusion it needs to keep its factories running and
producing replacement air bags. The company is also weighing a
bankruptcy filing as a way to bring a buyer on board.
Bidders for Takata have been meeting in New York with car makers
affected by the recalls. After this, a steering committee appointed
by Takata's management and financial advisory firm Lazard Ltd. will
narrow the bidders to two finalists.
Write to Sean McLain at sean.mclain@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 26, 2016 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)
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