Takata Air Bag Recall Doubles to Nearly 34 Million

[cal04]

Source: AP

Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Takata Corp. has agreed to declare 33.8 million air bags defective, a move that will double the number of cars and trucks included in what is now the largest auto recall in U.S. history.

The chemical that inflates the air bag can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal inflator and sending shrapnel into the passenger compartment. The faulty inflators are responsible for six deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.

The announcement was made Tuesday afternoon by the heads of the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reached an agreement with Takata after sparring with the company for the past year over the size of the recalls and the cause of the problem.

Eleven automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have recalled 17 million vehicles in the U.S. and more than 36 million worldwide because of the problem. It's unclear which manufacturers will be most affected by the expansion of the recall.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ap-source-takata-air-bag-recalls-double-us-31154078

[Stryst]

1. Im dealing with this right now

Even though my vehicle is out of warranty, all I had to do was call the dealership and they're going to take care of it for me when I come in on Monday.

[Wilms]

2. ^

[jakeXT]

3. Takata Recall Costs May Plague Company for Years

Takata Corp. ’s admission that some of its air-bag inflaters are defective could lead to additional recall costs that could hit billions of dollars, analysts say, posing long-term financial uncertainty for one of the world’s biggest automotive safety parts suppliers.

Shares in the Japanese company fell 10% Wednesday in Tokyo, after being down as much as 12% in the morning, following the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s announcement Tuesday that a total of 34 million vehicles in the U.S. are now being recalled over explosive air bag inflaters made by Takata, the biggest automotive recall in U.S. history.

That total represents almost 14% of the 250 million vehicles on U.S. roads. The problem is linked to six deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Takata now could face recall-related charges of $4 billion to $5 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $1.6 billion, said Valient Market Research Chief Executive Scott Upham, who has worked at Takata. These include costs related to manufacturing replacement parts and paying back auto makers for a portion of other costs, such as the time dealers spend fixing vehicles.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/takata-recall-costs-may-plague-company-for-years-1432109189

[Novara]

4. Yeah, my car too

I was dragging my feet because my car has an additional recall (something about seatbelts) but they didn't have THOSE parts in yet. I wanted to get both done at the same time. I'm glad I waited - I heard that if you had taken your car in already for the airbag problem you may have to take it in again, because they STILL DON'T EXACTLY KNOW what the problem is.

Sigh. Meanwhile, drive very carefully....