Honda, Daihatsu add five million cars to Takata airbag recall
TOKYO — The global Takata airbag recall expanded by millions more vehicles for the 2nd time in as many days today, with Honda Motor Co. and Daihatsu calling back more inflators.
The latest recalls affect some Four.89 million vehicles at Honda and about 260,000 at Daihatsu, the mini vehicle subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. The safety campaigns came just a day after Toyota and Nissan Motor Co. announced a similar recall of more than 6.Five million cars globally.
The Honda recall doesn`t affect vehicles in the United States or Canada. Vehicles sold in those markets weren`t tooled with the possibly faulty inflators targeted in the latest activity.
Honda`s recall covers 1.72 million vehicles in Japan that were manufactured from two thousand two to 2008. Those seventeen nameplates were made in Japan, Thailand and the United States. The remainder of the recalls falls in other regions. Honda said it will announce the regional breakdowns locally.
Daihatsu`s recall affects cars only in Japan.
Including the latest deeds, about thirty six million vehicles have been recalled worldwide since two thousand eight over Takata inflators, according to Reuters estimates. That includes Nineteen.6 million from Honda alone, some 8.Two million of which are in the United States, Honda spokeswoman Yuka Abe said.
Honda and Daihatsu said they aren`t aware of any injuries or deaths linked to the latest recalls.
Carmakers are calling back more cars after investigations demonstrated that certain inflators were susceptible to moisture harm over time and possibly prone to rupture. Honda said it is acting based on the results of a examine provide in March by Takata Corp., the Japanese supplier that has produced millions of airbag inflators that may explode, showering occupants with metal shards.
Mazda Motor Corp. said it was investigating whether the current findings warrant a similar recall of its vehicles. A Mitsubishi Motors Corp. spokesman said the company couldn`t comment on whether it plans a recall before officially notifying transportation authorities. A spokesperson for Subaru-maker Fuji Powerful Industries was not instantaneously available for comment.
That explore, conducted independently by Takata, showcased that moisture intrusion can cause the inflator`s propellant to lose density over time, raising the risk of rupture, Honda`s Abe said.
Honda said engineers have yet to determine the root cause of the problem.
Honda is acting in May, even tho’ it received the investigate`s results in March, because it took time to determine how many cars were affected and where those cars were sold, Abe said.
Honda said it will substitute the Takata-made driver-side inflators with inflators made by Autoliv and Daicel. Takata inflators on the passenger-side will be interchanged for ones from Daicel and Takata. Abe said Honda opted to source from companies that can supply replacement quickly, and did not opt for Takata`s competitors because of concerns about Takata quality.
Daihatsu is substituting the Takata inflators with fresh inflators from Takata.
Toyota said Wednesday, while announcing its recall of about five million vehicles that it would opt for fresh inflators from Daicel on the driver-side because it could supply the needed volume more quickly. Toyota will used Takata replacements for the passenger-side.
Toyota`s recall involved thirty five models, including 1.36 million cars in Japan, 1.27 million in Europe, 637,000 in the U.S. and Legitimate,000 in Canada, the company said in an email.
U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said Toyota and Nissan as well as Japanese government officials have been in contact with the U.S. safety agency over the last few days, and NHTSA will soon announce “significant fresh steps” related to accelerating Takata recalls.
Nissan said it was recalling about 1.56 million cars globally over the same issue, adding that no accidents or injuries had been reported. Nissan’s recall includes 563,000 cars in Europe, 326,000 in North America, 288,000 in Japan and 274,000 in China.
In the U.S., the Nissan recall affects 12,725 units of the two thousand four Pathfinder and about 251,000 Sentra compact cars from the 2004-06 model years from all fifty U.S. states. The company’s latest stir expands earlier recalls that were limited to regions with high humidity, a Nissan spokesman said.
Nissan will begin notifying customers in June, the spokesman said.
Six fatalities in Honda cars, including five in the U.S. and one in Malaysia, have been blamed on shrapnel from Takata airbags. At least one hundred five injuries are connected to the flaw, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said last month.
Regulators in Japan and the U.S. are investigating Takata airbag inflators that may malfunction, deploying them with so much force that the part cracks and hurls metal shrapnel at the car’s occupants.
A group of ten automakers hired aerospace and defense company Orbital ATK to test potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators. The Japanese component maker has also commissioned German research group Fraunhofer Society to investigate the cause of airbag ruptures.
Takata, which has forecast a come back to profit this fiscal year, has said it’s incapable to estimate the penalties from the lawsuits associated with the airbags and hasn’t set aside any amount to cover them as the cause of the defect is still being investigated.
Ryan Beene contributed to this report.