On March 31, 2014, I wrote to you about how Japanese air bag manufacturer Takata Corp. had increased its recall of airbags from 4000 to over 12 million. At 1:30 this afternoon, the Detroit News broke the story that Takata is now declaring that an estimated 33.8 million vehicles with its airbags are defective. This would make it the largest U.S. recall of any consumer product in history.
The air bags are linked to at least six deaths and more than 100 injuries caused when propellant explodes with too much force and sends dangerous metal fragments flying. It is believed that the problem is related to exposure to high humidity and moisture which changes the chemical makeup of the gas that propels the airbag to open. Many automakers recalled vehicles even when Takata refused to declare the parts defective.
The precise number of vehicles impacted could be even higher. Already 17 million vehicles have been recalled with an estimated 17 million vehicles in the United States to be recalled in the near future.
The repair of passenger air bags will be phased-in starting with high-humidity areas. Further testing will determine where Takata will go with the recalls at that point. In March, we reported that they are only able to manufacture 450,000 new inflators to repair the vehicles, but by September, it is expected that up to 900,000 inflators a month will be manufactured speeding up repairs. Still, given the number of recalls, it could be years before all of the recalled vehicles are repaired.
To date, the bulk of the vehicles recalled are by Honda, which has reports of at least six deaths and 64 injuries connected to air bags exploding and sending deadly metal fragments flying. Honda has recalled 5.5 million vehicles since last year. For a list of vehicles previously recalled, please see our March 31, 2015 blog.
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Michael K. Gillis, Esq.
GILLIS & BIKOFSKY, P.C.
1150 Walnut Street
Newton, MA 02461
Phone: 617-244-4300
Fax: 617-964-0862
E-mail: mgillis@gillisandbikofsky.com