Technology
Takata Doubling U.S. Recall for Defective Air Bags to 34M Vehicles
WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) – Japanese air bag manufacturer Takata Corp is doubling a recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, making it the largest automotive recall in American history, U.S. safety regulators said on Tuesday.
The recall involves passenger- and driver-side air bag inflators in vehicles made by 11 automakers, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Takata said. It expands on the 16.6 million vehicles called back for repairs for the same issue in previous regional and national recalls, and boosts the number of vehicles affected globally since 2008 to more than 53 million.
Regulators linked six deaths worldwide to defective Takata air bags which exploded too violently and shot shrapnel into the vehicles.
Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with NHTSA, which represents a clear path forward.” The company declined to say whether markets outside the United States would be affected.