5 Million More Vehicles Recalled with Faulty Airbags
A Ford pickup driver was killed in December 2015, in South 
Carolina because of a defective Takata airbag inflator that exploded, firing off shrapnel-like shards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has confirmed this to be the tenth (10th) death linked to Takata airbags – the ninth in the United States and the tenth death globally.
Federal regulators ordered an additional recall of 5 million more vehicles.
“This is a massive safety crisis,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Gordon Trowbridge told reporters.
NHTSA’s recall of 5 million vehicles with the faulty driver’s side airbags has now extended to vehicles made by Mazda, Ford, Audi, as well as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz — which had not previously been affected. The recent recalls include around 1 million vehicles with SDI driver’s side inflators, and 4 million with PSDI-5 driver’s side inflators.
The recall of the PSDI-5 driver’s side inflators was precipitated by Takata’s reporting of results of testing involving the ruptures of three driver’s-side inflators in Toyota RAV4 vehicles — all in Florida and all recovered as part of the existing recalls for passenger-side inflators.
Although the root cause of the defect is still unknown, regulators have focused on the airbags propellant, which contains ammonium nitrate, a compound that breaks down over time or when it is exposed to moisture. When that happens, the ammonium nitrate can combust violently, causing the propellant’s metal casing, called an inflator, to over-pressurize and rupture.
According to the New York Times, regulators have said that Takata must prove that ammonium nitrate, which is more commonly used in large-scale applications like mining, is safe to use or it will order all airbags containing that compound to be recalled. Takata, the only major airbag manufacturer to use the ammonium nitrate propellant, has said it is safe when properly treated with a stabilizing compound.
But for now, millions of vehicles remain unfixed, yet are still on the road. Vehicles in regions with high humidity are seen as being a higher risk which means those who live in Florida, amongst other places, should check if their vehicles are on the recall list. For more information, consumers should visit: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects
If you or a loved one have been hurt because of a defective airbag, please call our office to discuss your rights.
