US agency to watch unrecalled Takata inflators after one blows apart, injuring a driver in Chicago
U.S. auto safety regulators say they are monitoring data from a group of mostly unrecalled Takata air bag inflators after one of them exploded in a BMW and hurled metal fragments that seriously injured a driver in Chicago.
Ford loses track of dangerous air bags, forcing 2 recalls
The company on Thursday issued two recalls, with the largest coming because Ford can't find 45 obsolete air bags that may have been installed on some old Ranger pickup trucks. The company says the air bags were not purged from the stock of service parts and could have been used in crash or theft repairs. In a smaller recall, Ford found just over 1,100 vehicles that may have gotten obsolete Takata air bags in collision repairs. Takata used the volatile chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the air bags in a crash. The air bags have caused at least 27 deaths worldwide, including 18 in the U.S. About 400 have been injured.
US rejects Ford, Mazda requests to avoid Takata recalls
The U.S. government's highway safety agency has rejected a request from Ford and Mazda to avoid recalling about 3 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)DETROIT โ The U.S. government's highway safety agency has rejected a request from Ford and Mazda to avoid recalling about 3 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The problem caused the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million inflators recalled by 19 automakers. But the safety agency disagreed and denied the automakersโ petition to avoid the recall. The Ford and Mazda inflators are the earliest generation made by Takata that used calcium sulfate as a drying agent.
Honda dumps Takata over deadly airbags
Honda is dumping longtime supplier Takata over its deadly airbags. Honda, one of Takata's biggest customers, also alleged Takata misrepresented and manipulated test data, and has requested the firm hire a third party to conduct an audit of test details given to Honda. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. regulators slapped Takata with a massive $70 million fine for selling its botched inflators. Takata could be hit with an additional $130 million fine if it fails to adhere to safety measures going forward. Takata could face additional fines from a U.S. Justice Department investigation, and has been involved in multiple private legal actions.