Takata Air Bags: 12 Million Vehicles Recalled

Eight carmakers are recalling more than 12 million vehicles in the US to replace Takata (Frankfurt: 7TK.F - news) air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, according to a safety watchdog.

Documents posted on Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) detailed recalls by Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Mazda (BSE: MAZDALTD.BO - news) , Nissan, Subaru, Ferrari (Berlin: 2FE.BE - news) and Mitsubishi (LSE: 7035.L - news) .

They include passenger air bags mainly found in older models in areas along the Gulf Coast that have high heat and humidity.

Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion which then inflates air bags in the event of a crash.

But the chemical can deteriorate over time if exposed to heat and humidity and burn faster than designed, causing metal canisters designed to contain the explosion to blow apart and hurtling hot shrapnel inside vehicles.

The inflators have been found responsible for 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.

Two more deaths are under investigation in Malaysia.

The recalls are among the first to be unveiled by car manufacturers since Takata agreed to the recall expansion.

Models that are from 2011 or older in high heat and humidity areas will get first priority, followed by 2008 and older models in Southern states, and finally 2004 and older models in the rest of the US.

They form part of a massive expansion of Takata recalls announced earlier this month.

A total of 17 automakers have added up to 40 million inflators to what was already the largest auto recall in US history .

Honda had the biggest recall total, with more than 4.5 million inflators. Fiat Chrysler reported 4.3 million.