Thread: Toyota recalls 1.6m vehicles in the US due to Takata airbags

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) said on Monday it will recall almost 1.6 million additional U.S. vehicles for front passenger side Takata air bag inflators that could rupture.

Earlier this month, Takata Corp (7312.T) said it was declaring another 35 million to 40 million U.S. inflators defective at the urging of U.S. regulators, a move that more than doubles the number of inflators recalled. Faulty Takata inflators have been linked to more than 100 injuries and 13 deaths worldwide.

Toyota said the new recall includes some but not all Corolla, Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Sienna, Scion xB, Lexus ES, GX and IS vehicles built between 2006 and 2011.

Toyota said it has now recalled 4.73 million vehicles in the United States for Takata air bags.

Other reports from the 17 automakers now recalling Takata vehicles are due this week.

On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) said another 197,000 vehicles in the United States will need to be recalled -- but all have been recalled in previous driver-side airbag calls.

Last week, Takata filed reports with U.S. auto safety regulators declaring nearly 14 million air bag inflators defective -- in the first of a series of required reports. Takata agreed to expand recalls by 35 million to 40 million inflators in several tranches through 2019, adding to the 28.8 million recalled before May 4.

This is the largest recall in U.S. auto safety history. Malfunctioning Takata air bag inflators can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into vehicles.

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O), Fisker Automotive and Jaguar Land Rover will recall Takata air bag inflators, bringing the number of automakers involved to 17, including Honda Motor Co (7267.T), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI).

Jaguar Land Rover is a Tata Motors Ltd brand.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)

Toyota recalls 1.6 million U.S. vehicles for Takata air bags | Reuters

Automakers recall 12 million U.S. vehicles over Takata air bags


Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

Eight automakers announced a recall affecting more than 12 million vehicles on Friday related to defective Takata (7312.T) air bags, documents posted by U.S. government regulators showed.

Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is recalling 4.5 million U.S. vehicles while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) is recalling 4.3 million, the documents show.

Japan's Takata this month agreed to declare up to 40 million additional inflators defective by 2019 in a move that will involve 17 automakers issuing vehicle recalls.

More automakers are expected to issue recall notices in coming days.

Takata has declared 14 million inflators defective in the first phase of its latest recall.

Earlier, it recalled 28.8 million inflators affecting 24 million U.S. vehicles.

At least 2.3 million of the 12 million vehicles recalled on Friday were subject to previous recalls.

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has told regulators it is recalling 1.65 million vehicles Subaru (7270.T) is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles in the United States.

The two automakers said the recalls include some discontinued Saab and Pontiac vehicles assembled for General Motors Co (GM.N).

The defective air bag inflators have been linked to at least 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide. The vehicles being recalled were built between 2002 and 2011 and include pick-ups, SUVs and cars.

Fiat Chrysler said Friday it is recalling 933,000 vehicles in Canada, Mexico and outside North America for Takata inflators. It told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the second phase of the Takata expansion would include 660,000 U.S. vehicles.

In Japan, regulators said an additional 7 million vehicles with Takata air bags would be recalled.

Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) is recalling about 730,000 U.S. vehicles while Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) is recalling 400,000.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) is recalling about 38,000 2006-2007 Lancer vehicles and Ferrari NV (RACE.MI) is calling back 2,800 U.S. sportscars.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Alexander Smith and Jason Neely)

Automakers recall 12 million U.S. vehicles over Takata air bags | Reuters

Recall on a number of Honda cars here too.

I resurected this old story about airbags because of the article below, which provides some new information on how these defective airbags came to be installed in so many cars.
It also clearly indicates that the automakers knew or should have known that the Takata airbags were dangouous because they used a volatile compound in the inflator which had been rejected by European airbag makers, but of course Takata was offering them cheaper than their previous supplier.

GM quest for cheaper air bag led to Takata and a deadly crisis
Originally published August 26, 2016 at 7:38 pm Updated August 26, 2016 at 8:35 pm
By HIROKO TABUCHI
The New York Times
In the late 1990s, General Motors got an unexpected and enticing offer. A little-known Japanese supplier, Takata, had designed a much cheaper automotive air bag.
GM turned to its air-bag supplier — the Swedish-American company Autoliv — and asked it to match the cheaper design or risk losing the automaker’s business, according to Linda Rink, who was a senior scientist at Autoliv assigned to the GM account at the time.
But when Autoliv’s scientists studied the Takata air bag, they found that it relied on a dangerously volatile compound in its inflater, a critical part that causes the air bag to expand.
“We just said, ‘No, we can’t do it. We’re not going to use it,’ ” said Robert Taylor, Autoliv’s head chemist until 2010.
Today, that compound is at the heart of the largest automotive-safety recall in history. At least 14 people have been killed and more than 100 have been injured by faulty inflaters made by Takata. More than 100 million of its air bags have been installed in cars in the United States by General Motors and 16 other automakers.

GM quest for cheaper air bag led to Takata and a deadly crisis | The Seattle Times