(Source: NHTSA website, NHTSA action phases in recall of additional 35-40 million inflators through 2019, May 4, 2016)
The United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expanding and accelerating the recall of Takata air bag inflators. The decision follows the agency’s confirmation of the root cause behind the inflators’ propensity to rupture. Ruptures of the Takata inflators have been tied to ten deaths and more than 100 injuries in the United States.
Under the Amended Consent Order issued to Takata this week, the company is required to make a series of safety defect decisions that will support vehicle manufacturer recall campaigns of an additional estimated 35-40 million inflators, adding to the already 28.8 million inflators previously recalled. These expansions are planned to take place in phases between May 2016 and December 2019. The expansions mean that all Takata ammonium nitrate-based propellant driver and passenger frontal air bag inflators without a chemical drying agent, also known as a desiccant, will be recalled. “Today’s action is a significant step in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s aggressive oversight of Takata on behalf of drivers and passengers across America,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “The acceleration of this recall is based on scientific evidence and will protect all Americans from air bag inflators that may become unsafe.”
In 2015, NHTSA imposed the largest civil penalty in its history for Takata’s violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and for the first time used its authority to accelerate recall repairs to millions of affected vehicles. NHTSA also appointed an Independent Monitor to assess, track and report the company’s compliance with the Consent Order and to oversee the Coordinated Remedy Program.
Consumers can find complete information about the Takata air bag inflator recall at the NHTSA website.
The lawyers at Liever, Hyman & Potter, P.C., are concerned for the safety of automobile drivers and passengers in Berks County and Schuylkill County and serve accident victims and their families in Reading, PA, Pottsville, PA, and throughout Eastern and Central, Pennsylvania.
From the desk of Adam K. Levin, Esquire.