Detroit, Michigan — May 30, 2016 — The Takata airbag recall continues to grow. On Friday, the Japanese transport ministry announced that 7 million additional recalls related to Takata, covering air bag inflators that do not have a chemical drying agent.
The US-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has also posted documents showing recalls by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ferrari, Mitsubishi, Fiat Chrysler, Subaru and Mazda. The latest wave of recalls affects more than 12 million vehicles in the US.
The Takata air bag recall was already the largest auto recall in North American history before these latest announcements.
Takata’s air bags use ammonium nitrate to create a chemical reaction to inflate the air bags in the event of an accident or crash. Much of the recall stems from the fact that the chemicals can become unstable when exposed to high heat and humidity. This causes them to burn faster than designed. To date, the inflators have caused at least 11 deaths and injured more than 100 people around the world.
The latest wave of recalls is the first since Takata agreed to the recall’s expansion on May 4 and more are expected this week. Older model vehicles are being given priority, as research has shown that the ammonium nitrate takes at least six years to deteriorate.
