Takata Airbag Scandal– 7 more brands to join global recall

Kuala Lumpur: After the major Volkswagen scandal it looks like the authorities have become more cautious regarding the safety and emissions of motor vehicles. Takata airbag recall was also one of the major scandal of 2014 which involved 12 automakers, now the news is coming that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is going to add another seven brands to the list that already includes major brands like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and BMW. Bloomberg reports that the US regulators overseeing the replacement of Takata airbags is probably going forward to probe into other brands including Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Suzuki, Volvo Trucks, Land Rover, Spartan Motors and the Volkswagen Group.

The NHTSA is followed by the Takata’s report which mentioned that it has supplied allegedly faulty ammonia-nitrate equipped airbags to these car manufacturers as well.

Takata issued a statement explaining that “Takata has identified your company as having been supplied airbag inflators that contain either its 2004 or 2004L ammonium nitrate-based propellant and that are not currently covered by the Takata DIRs. In connection with the Coordinated Remedy Program proceeding, NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls.”

This could result into another potential recall as per NHTSA’s concerns over the ammonium nitrate-based propellant used in the airbags supplied to the various car manufacturers. It has been identified tha the substance can be a possible cause for explosive deployments of the airbags. It was added along with desiccant to keep the systems dry, but recent reports claim that it might contribute ti the explosions too.

So far over 34 million vehicles having been recalled in the US alone, and millions more around the globe. So we cannot say that the Takata airbag issue is going to end anytime soon.