Automakers To Recall Over 5 Million Vehicles Worldwide Over Faulty Air Bag

The Japanese auto giant is recalling 4.4m cars worldwide, including 1.2m in Europe, because of Takata Corp air bag inflators which can explode and hurl shrapnel into the vehicle. Mark Rosekind, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, last month warned that there could be still further expansions of the Takata recall, which at that point had affected more than 19 million vehicles.

The fatal air bag deployment occurred in a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup, making it the first such death in a vehicle other than a Honda.

To view the full article, register now.

Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Fiat Chrysler have already issued their own recalls, which are in various states.

The NHTSA opened an investigation in August 2015 after a complaint of a crash in a 2008 Honda Accord in which the airbags did not deploy.

Affected are model-year 2007-14 Ridgelines, effectively the entire model run since Honda moved production to Alabama from Canada.

The Associated Press is reporting that Continental Automotive Systems alerted USA regulators of a problem with moisture penetrating some airbag control computers.

Perhaps the biggest problem posed by the Continental recall is it puts more stress on the supply of replacement airbags for Takata, said Brauer. Among the impacted vehicles are those manufactured by Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler, Volvo Trucks and Mazda.

Fiat Chrysler on Thursday said it was recalling about 112,000 older crossovers and minivans in the U.S. Honda, meanwhile, said late Wednesday it would recall roughly 341,000 2008-2010 Accord sedans in the U.S.to address the problem. The repairs are scheduled to begin this summer, and owners should receive a letter notifying them about the recall within 60 days and will get a second message when parts are available. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Accord vehicles.

Another problem has developed with automotive air bags, this one resulting in recalls of up to five million vehicles worldwide. Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey urged NHTSA to recall all cars with Takata inflators.