Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Auto safety investigators in the United States have launched a new probe into 30 million vehicles with potentially defective Takata air bag inflators
- There have been at least 28 deaths worldwide, including 19 in the United States, and more than 400 injuries tied to faulty Takata inflators
- The inflator explosions have been reported to send deadly metal fragments flying in rare instances
- More than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States over the last decade and more than 100 million worldwide
Auto safety investigators in the United States have launched a new probe into 30 million vehicles built by almost two dozen car makers with potentially defective Takata air bag inflators, according to a government document.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an engineering analysis into the vehicles manufactured between 2001 and 2019 by Honda, Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Ferrari, Mazda, Daimler AG, BMW, Chrysler, Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, and others.
The 30 million vehicles include those that had the inflators installed when they were manufactured, as well as some inflators that were used in prior recall repairs.
More than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States over the last decade — and more than 100 million worldwide — in the biggest auto safety call-back in history.
There have been at least 28 deaths worldwide, including 19 in the United States, and more than 400 injuries tied to faulty Takata inflators.
According to the NHTSA, the vehicles have inflators with a “desiccant” or drying agent.
“While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators,” the NHTSA said. “Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators.”
The cause of the inflator explosions, the NHTSA continued, is thought to be due to the breakdown of propellant after long-term exposure to high temperature fluctuations and humidity. These explosions have been reported to send deadly metal fragments flying in rare instances.
In the United States, 16 deaths in Honda vehicles have been reported, two in Ford vehicles and one in a BMW, while 9 other Honda deaths occurred in Malaysia, Brazil and Mexico.
Earlier this year, the NHTSA said of the 67 million recalled inflators, approximately 50 million have been repaired or are otherwise accounted for.
