UPDATE 5/4/16, 1:00 p.m.: NHTSA has announced that Takata will recall between 35 million and 40 million additional front-airbag inflators as part of an amended consent order between the Japanese supplier and the agency. All of the inflators in question are non-desiccated, which means they do not have a drying agent to compensate for humidity. So far, NHTSA says only the non-desiccated ammonium-nitrate inflators have been rupturing. Takata now has to prove that the desiccated inflators are safe or else it will be forced to recall those, as well. This expanded recall, which will be conducted in phases, is expected to last until December 2019. Exact car models have not been identified.
If you thought your car was safe from shrapnel-shooting airbags, it may not be after Takata adds at least 35 million more inflators to its recall campaign of defective front and side airbags. According to the Wall Street Journal, Takata and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may announce the expansion as early as this week. The actual number could be far higher, although since many cars have more than one Takata inflator under recall, it may not necessarily equate to 35 million more cars. Currently, there are more than 24 million cars from 24 brands under recall primarily for driver and passenger frontal airbags, along with a small fraction for side airbags, that can rupture upon deployment and cause the inflator’s metal casing to cut into a person’s face. A total of...