Automakers plagued by the Takata airbag recalls have found three specific root causes for some of the inflator ruptures, according to preliminary results from a study coming in the next few weeks.
Phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate without a moisture-absorbing desiccant is but one factor, according to the Independent Testing Coalition, a group of 10 automakers formed in December 2014 after they were named in the Japanese supplier’s recalls (BMW, Fiat-Chrysler, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota). When moisture is present, “long-term exposure to repeated high temperature cycling” and airbag inflator assemblies that do “not adequately prevent moisture intrusion” were also identified, the group said, “all of which contribute to the rupture of Takata airbag inflators.” The testing, conducted over 20,000 hours by Virginia-based defense contractor Orbital ATK, which builds rocket engines and ammunition, focused on the roughly 23 million inflators recalled in 19 million cars in the U.S. Orbital will run more tests to include an additional five million Takata inflators recalled within this month, as well as inflators produced with desiccant and brand-new inflators intended as replacement parts for the recalls?which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has admitted may not work long term. For that problem, Orbital will run an aging test.
In a separate, earlier report, NHTSA vehicle integr...