Senators call on Takata to recall all vehicles

Now, two U.S. senators who sit on the Senate panel that has been looking into the Takata situation are asking for the recall of all cars equipped with Takata airbags.

Volkswagen is the latest automaker to be under investigation for faulty Takata air bags. It was the first reported incident in a VW, the first in a side air bag and the first involving newer versions of Takata’s air bags, according to the Associated Press. Last week it sent orders to Takata and VW seeking information on the crash andair bag tests.

“Takata’s defective airbags have already caused at least eight deaths and more than one-hundred injuries in the United States – numbers that may increase as further cases come to light – and it is essential for your company to do all it can to identify and address the cause of this problem”.

According to an earlier-this-week disclosure by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency has initiated an investigation into the rupture of a side airbag in a 2015 model Volkswagen Tiguan in June this year.

In the June 7 crash near St. Louis, the left side air bag inflated in a 2015 VW Tiguan, blowing apart a metal canister.

They also urged the air bag manufacturer to make public any data related to Takata’s testing of air bags so independent experts and analysts can review it. The German automaker has confirmed that it is working to investigate the issue with Takata and noted that the incident occurred after the driver hit a deer and no police report was filed and the driver did not seek medical attention. In addition, ammonium nitrate could become combustible if it is exposed to high-moisture conditions.

A statement from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executive said the company is now using alternate inflator design without ammonium nitrate as propellant from ZF TRW Automotive. One interesting twist to this story: Takata says most of the airbag problems in the US happened in very humid areas along the U.S. Gulf Coast.