TOKYO: Takata Corp is preparing to comply with a US order to expand a region-specific recall nationwide, the Nikkei said yesterday, a move that’s likely to add millions more to the tally of cars called back to replace potentially deadly air bags.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last week gave Takata, which supplies about a fifth of the world’s air bags, until yesterday to declare that its air bag inflators are defective and issue a national recall. If it does not, NHTSA could begin steps to fine the Japanese company up to $7,000 per vehicle, as well as force a recall.
The Nikkei business daily said Takata was making final preparations to expand what has been called an ‘investigative’ recall, which has so far been limited to hot and humid areas where the air bag inflators are thought to be more prone to fail. It did not say where it got the information.
A Takata spokeswoman said no decision had been made, adding that no board meeting had taken place yesterday.
The US regional recall has involved 4.1 million cars, more than half of those made by Honda Motor Co, Takata’s biggest customer. Takata has so far resisted a wider recall, saying that could divert replacement parts away from the regions thought to need them most.
In total, some 16 million cars have been recalled worldwide in recent years for potentially faulty Takata air bags. Five deaths have been linked to its inflators, which can explode with too much force and spray metal shards inside the vehicle. Reuters
