Airbag Recall More Than Doubles To 69 Million

Japanese manufacturer Takata (Frankfurt: 7TK.F - news) is recalling 35-40 million more airbag inflators in the US, more than doubling what is already the largest recall ever in America's car industry.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) means the total number of inflators to be replaced will rise to up to 69 million, a huge task that the government expects will take until the end of 2019 to complete.

Inflators are the devices that fill airbag cushions with gas in the event of a crash.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force and injure people. At least 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries have been reported worldwide.

An initial recall launched two years ago covered 28.8 million inflators but car makers have so far only managed to fix 28% of the vehicles involved.

The existing programme involved 14 car makers and the new recall adds three additional manufacturers – Tesla, Jaguar Land Rover and Fisker.

Models covered by the new announcement were not immediately released but are to be made public by US transport officials in coming weeks.

Most of the expansion of the recall is for front air passenger bags that were not part of previous recalls, said Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

He said: "This issue is urgent. The science now clearly shows these inflators can become unsafe over time."

Mr Rosekind pointed to evidence showing that chemicals in the devices can degrade, especially when exposed to heat and humidity.

There are no deaths or injuries linked to the new recall, officials said. US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said it was based on scientific evidence "and will protect all Americans from air bag inflators that may become unsafe".

Takata confirmed the expansion but said it was not aware of any ruptures in the inflators in vehicles that are part of the expansion "nor is Takata aware of any new data or scientific analysis that suggests any substantial risk with respect to such vehicles (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ".