Honda Expands Airbag Recall Nationwide, Takata Tests Show Higher Defect Rates

Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata’s senior vice president of global good quality assurance, testifies ahead of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on December 3.

With Takata denying a federal request to recall more of its driver’s-side airbags, Honda has agreed to do so by expanding its regional recalls and calling all automakers to help a third-party audit that would speed up components testing and properly determine the shrapnel-shooting airbags.

As of last Wednesday, the National Highway Visitors Safety Administration had provided Takata until midnight last evening to expand the recall and had pressured half of the 10 impacted automakers to do the same. While NHTSA maintains that passenger-side airbags do not pose a coast-to-coast problem, Takata senior vice president Hiroshi Shimizu rebuffed NHTSA’s claims that a number of million driver’s-side airbags now demonstrate a national safety danger.

“Based on the information we are collecting from the region, the data nonetheless help that we must remain focused on the region with higher humidity,” Shimizu stated in a hearing today to the Residence Committee on Energy and Commerce.

To date, Takata has tested roughly 4000 inflators recovered from automobiles in “high humidity” regions of the south and Gulf Coast and said that all of the approximately 400 driver’s-side inflators had performed as designed. But of the remaining 3600 passenger-side inflators, Shimizu said that “less than 60″ had ruptured—which, at 1.67 % of the sample, is a quite higher failure price in manufacturing. NHTSA had sent a recall request to Takata final month soon after a driver of a 2007 Ford Mustang outdoors of the regional recall was injured by a 2-inch metal shard. In the U.S., 4 folks have died from the defective Takata inflators—all of them in Honda vehicles—and at least 139 injuries have been reported across all automakers.

“The proof is the dilemma isn’t limited to areas of absolute, higher humidity,” NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman stated at the hearing. Friedman mentioned he would pursue fines, which can run up to $ 7000 per day, if Takata does not comply with an expanded recall.

So far, only Toyota has seconded Honda’s request for outdoors testing but did not expand any of its recalls. Takata stated it would type an independent panel to scrutinize top quality checks, recommend greatest practices at its facilities, and publish the final results at a later date. As part of NHTSA’s investigation, the company has till December 5 to supply the agency with particulars on its manufacturing processes and to reveal employee names who worked on the production line when the faulty airbags had been manufactured. All 10 automakers have also been ordered to submit test benefits from the regional recalls by December 5, hence Honda’s cry for a group work. Honda is below a separate investigation by NHTSA for omitting 1729 death and injury reports for far more than a decade, a dilemma the business mentioned nowadays was due to poor employee oversight, and for not specifically mentioning airbag-related deaths and injuries in previous recalls.

In August, a 2007 Ford Mustang driver was injured by this 2-inch metal fragment from a faulty Takata airbag.

Despite months of testing—plus years of related investigations by Takata and Honda that stretch back to 2004—neither Takata nor the automakers have a definitive answer as to why the airbags are exploding shrapnel. Shimizu said Takata is testing about 25 inflators per day and is currently on track to ship out 350,000 replacements per month and will ramp up to 450,000 by January. If each automaker issues national airbag recalls, Takata has agreed to contract with suppliers Autoliv and Daicel to feed the demand.

Although numerous of Takata’s current airbag inflators use the synthetic compound Tetrazole, Shimizu mentioned there was nothing unsafe about the ammonium nitrate utilized in the faulty inflators, only that “manufacturing processes and humidity control in the plant” had caused the problem. When Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) revealed comments from Takata engineers in 1999 who raised doubts about ammonium nitrate, which includes that it “predisposes this propellant to break apart” and that it could “blow up,” Shimizu said he did not remember seeing them. Final month, a Takata official stated the replacement airbag inflators had a revised chemical compound but have been still primarily based on ammonium nitrate. Shimizu mentioned the replacements have the exact same propellant as just before.

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“I’m quite confident that merchandise on the current production line should operate as made and are secure,” Shimizu said.

With regard to allegations that business workers destroyed information after discovering faulty airbags in 2004, Shimizu denied there was “any secret test” and stated the company did conduct tests at that time related to a separate difficulty in which airbag cushions have been tearing on BMW models.

Honda Expands Airbag Recall Nationwide, Takata Tests Show Higher Defect Rates

Honda Expands Airbag Recall Nationwide, Takata Tests Show High Defect Rates

Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata’s senior vice president of global quality assurance, testifies prior to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on December 3.

With Takata denying a federal request to recall more of its driver’s-side airbags, Honda has agreed to do so by expanding its regional recalls and calling all automakers to help a third-party audit that would speed up parts testing and properly determine the shrapnel-shooting airbags.

As of last Wednesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had provided Takata till midnight last night to expand the recall and had pressured half of the 10 impacted automakers to do the exact same. Even though NHTSA maintains that passenger-side airbags do not pose a coast-to-coast dilemma, Takata senior vice president Hiroshi Shimizu rebuffed NHTSA’s claims that numerous million driver’s-side airbags now demonstrate a national safety threat.

“Based on the information we are collecting from the area, the data nevertheless support that we need to stay focused on the area with higher humidity,” Shimizu said in a hearing these days to the Residence Committee on Energy and Commerce.

To date, Takata has tested roughly 4000 inflators recovered from automobiles in “high humidity” regions of the south and Gulf Coast and mentioned that all of the about 400 driver’s-side inflators had performed as made. But of the remaining 3600 passenger-side inflators, Shimizu said that “less than 60″ had ruptured—which, at 1.67 percent of the sample, is a really high failure rate in manufacturing. NHTSA had sent a recall request to Takata final month right after a driver of a 2007 Ford Mustang outdoors of the regional recall was injured by a 2-inch metal shard. In the U.S., 4 folks have died from the defective Takata inflators—all of them in Honda vehicles—and at least 139 injuries have been reported across all automakers.

“The proof is the dilemma isn’t restricted to locations of absolute, high humidity,” NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman mentioned at the hearing. Friedman mentioned he would pursue fines, which can run up to $ 7000 per day, if Takata does not comply with an expanded recall.

So far, only Toyota has seconded Honda’s request for outside testing but did not expand any of its recalls. Takata said it would kind an independent panel to scrutinize top quality checks, advocate very best practices at its facilities, and publish the outcomes at a later date. As element of NHTSA’s investigation, the organization has till December 5 to give the agency with specifics on its manufacturing processes and to reveal employee names who worked on the production line when the faulty airbags had been manufactured. All 10 automakers have also been ordered to submit test results from the regional recalls by December 5, therefore Honda’s cry for a group effort. Honda is under a separate investigation by NHTSA for omitting 1729 death and injury reports for much more than a decade, a dilemma the firm said right now was due to poor employee oversight, and for not specifically mentioning airbag-connected deaths and injuries in previous recalls.

In August, a 2007 Ford Mustang driver was injured by this 2-inch metal fragment from a faulty Takata airbag.

Despite months of testing—plus years of related investigations by Takata and Honda that stretch back to 2004—neither Takata nor the automakers have a definitive answer as to why the airbags are exploding shrapnel. Shimizu mentioned Takata is testing about 25 inflators per day and is at the moment on track to ship out 350,000 replacements per month and will ramp up to 450,000 by January. If every single automaker issues national airbag recalls, Takata has agreed to contract with suppliers Autoliv and Daicel to feed the demand.

Even though many of Takata’s present airbag inflators use the synthetic compound Tetrazole, Shimizu stated there was nothing unsafe about the ammonium nitrate utilized in the faulty inflators, only that “manufacturing processes and humidity handle in the plant” had triggered the difficulty. When Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) revealed comments from Takata engineers in 1999 who raised doubts about ammonium nitrate, which includes that it “predisposes this propellant to break apart” and that it could “blow up,” Shimizu stated he did not remember seeing them. Last month, a Takata official said the replacement airbag inflators had a revised chemical compound but have been still based on ammonium nitrate. Shimizu said the replacements have the identical propellant as prior to.

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“I’m really confident that items on the present production line ought to operate as created and are protected,” Shimizu said.

With regard to allegations that company workers destroyed information following discovering faulty airbags in 2004, Shimizu denied there was “any secret test” and stated the organization did conduct tests at that time associated to a separate difficulty in which airbag cushions have been tearing on BMW models.

Honda Expands Airbag Recall Nationwide, Takata Tests Show High Defect Rates

Statement by Honda Motor Southern Africa Safety Recall – Driver’s Airbag

Further to the Takata airbag recall earlier this year, Honda will as a precautionary measure, recall a small number of potentially affected 2004 Jazz and 2012 – 2014 Brio vehicles, in order to replace the driver’;s SRS airbag module.

In certain vehicles, the driver’;s SRS airbag may deploy with excessive pressure during an accident which could result in the rupture of the airbag inflator canister. Should this happen, the possibility exists that small fragments might enter the passenger compartment potentially causing injury. Honda Motor Southern Africa has no reported injuries or incidents related to this recall.

A small number of Hondas in South Africa are potentially affected with 481 Jazz 2004 model year and 536 Brio 2012 to 2014 model year.

As a precautionary measure, owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Honda Motor Southern Africa requesting them to make an appointment with their Honda dealer for replacement of the airbag module. Recall repairs will begin within the second week of December.

Should customers have any queries regarding this recall, they may access the Honda website at www.honda.co.za, email recall@honda.co.za or contact 031 000 0473 to verify if their vehicle is affected.

Statement by Honda Motor Southern Africa Safety Recall – Driver’s Airbag

Statement by Honda Motor Southern Africa Safety Recall – Driver’s Airbag

Further to the Takata airbag recall earlier this year, Honda will as a precautionary measure, recall a small number of potentially affected 2004 Jazz and 2012 – 2014 Brio vehicles, in order to replace the driver’;s SRS airbag module.

In certain vehicles, the driver’;s SRS airbag may deploy with excessive pressure during an accident which could result in the rupture of the airbag inflator canister. Should this happen, the possibility exists that small fragments might enter the passenger compartment potentially causing injury. Honda Motor Southern Africa has no reported injuries or incidents related to this recall.

A small number of Hondas in South Africa are potentially affected with 481 Jazz 2004 model year and 536 Brio 2012 to 2014 model year.

As a precautionary measure, owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Honda Motor Southern Africa requesting them to make an appointment with their Honda dealer for replacement of the airbag module. Recall repairs will begin within the second week of December.

Should customers have any queries regarding this recall, they may access the Honda website at www.honda.co.za, email recall@honda.co.za or contact 031 000 0473 to verify if their vehicle is affected.

Statement by Honda Motor Southern Africa Safety Recall – Driver’s Airbag

Enormous Takata Airbag Recall: Every thing You Want to Know, Including Complete List of Affected Vehicles

The automotive planet and beyond is buzzing about the huge airbag recall covering numerous millions of vehicles in the U.S. from practically 2 dozen brands. Here’s what you need to know about the problem which automobiles could have the defective, shrapnel-shooting inflator parts from Japanese supplier Takata and what to do if your vehicle is 1 of them.

* SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR Full LIST OF Affected Automobiles *

The situation requires defective inflator and propellent devices that might deploy improperly in the occasion of a crash, shooting metal fragments into vehicle occupants. A lot more than 7 million cars are potentially impacted in the United States.

Initially, only 6 makes were involved when Takata announced the fault in April 2013, but a Toyota recall in June this year—along with new admissions from Takata that it had little clue as to which automobiles employed its defective inflators, or even what the root trigger was—prompted more automakers to problem identical recalls. In July, NHTSA forced added regional recalls in high-humidity regions including Florida, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to collect removed parts and send them to Takata for review.

Another main recall issued on October 20 expanded the impacted vehicles across many brands. For its component, Toyota mentioned it would begin to replace defective passenger-side inflators starting October 25 if parts are unavailable, nevertheless, it has advised its dealers to disable the airbags and affix “Do Not Sit Here” messages to the dashboard.

Whilst Toyota says there have been no related injuries or deaths involving its autos, a New York Times report in September found a total of at least 139 reported injuries across all automakers. In specific, there have been at least 2 deaths and 30 injuries in Honda cars. According to the Occasions, Honda and Takata allegedly have recognized about the faulty inflators given that 2004 but failed to notify NHTSA in prior recall filings (which started in 2008) that the impacted airbags had really ruptured or were linked to injuries and deaths.

Takata initial mentioned that propellant chemical substances had been mishandled and improperly stored for the duration of assembly, which supposedly caused the metal airbag inflators to burst open due to excessive stress inside. In July, the organization blamed humid weather and spurred additional recalls.

According to documents reviewed by Reuters, Takata says that rust, negative welds, and even chewing gum dropped into at least a single inflator are also at fault. The identical documents show that in 2002, Takata’s plant in Mexico allowed a defect price that was “6 to 8 occasions above” acceptable limits, or roughly 60 to 80 defective parts for each 1 million airbag inflators shipped. The company’s study has however to attain a final conclusion and report the findings to NHTSA.

UPDATE 11/7: The New York Instances has published a report suggesting that Takata knew about the airbag problems in 2004, conducting secret tests off work hours to verify the difficulty. The results confirmed main problems with the inflators, and engineers quickly began researching a answer. But instead of notifying federal security regulators and moving forward with fixes, Takata executives ordered its engineers to destroy the information and dispose of the physical proof. This occurred a full 4 years ahead of Takata publicly acknowledged the issue. Needless to say, the supplier has a lot of explaining to do.

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AFFECTED Cars (total quantity if known in parentheses):

Acura: 2002–2003 CL and TL 2003–2006 MDX 2005 RL

BMW (627,615): 2000–2005 3-series sedan and wagon 2000–2006 3-series coupe and convertible 2001–2006 M3 coupe and convertible

Chrysler (371,309, like Dodge): 2005–2008 Chrysler 300 2007–2008 Aspen

Dodge/Ram (371,309, including Chrysler): 2003–2008 Dodge Ram 1500 2005–2008 Ram 2500, Dakota, and Durango 2006–2008 Ram 3500 and 4500 2008 Ram 5500

Ford (58,669): 2004 Ranger 2005–2006 GT 2005–2007 Mustang

Honda (5,051,364, including Acura): 2001–2007 Accord 2001–2005 Civic 2002–2006 CR-V 2002–2004 Odyssey 2003–2011 Element 2003–2007 Pilot 2006 Ridgeline

Infiniti: 2001–2004 Infiniti I30/I35 2002–2003 Infiniti QX4 2003–2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45

Lexus: 2002–2005 SC430

Mazda (64,872): 2003–2007 Mazda 6 2006–2007 Mazdaspeed 6 2004–2008 Mazda RX-8 2004–2005 MPV 2004 B-series

Mitsubishi (11,985): 2004–2005 Lancer 2006–2007 Raider

Nissan (694,626, including Infiniti): 2001–2003 Maxima 2001–2004 Pathfinder 2002–2004 Nissan Sentra

Pontiac: 2003–2005 Vibe

Saab: 2005 9-2X

Subaru (17,516): 2003–2005 Baja, Legacy, Outback 2004–2005 Impreza, Impreza WRX, Impreza WRX STI

Toyota (877,000, like Lexus and Pontiac Vibe): 2002–2005 Toyota Corolla and Sequoia 2003–2005 Matrix, Tundra

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We will update this list as quickly as new information is offered, but you can access NHTSA’s own operating tally of affected vehicles here. For further details about your specific vehicle, go to the manufacturer’s customer site or use NHTSA’s VIN-lookup tool.

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This story was originally published on October 21, 2014. It has subsequently been updated to reflect the newest findings and official list of impacted vehicles.

Enormous Takata Airbag Recall: Every thing You Want to Know, Including Complete List of Affected Vehicles

More ’Bag Blues: Ford Recalls 747,000 Cars for Faulty Airbag Controller

Ford is recalling 746,842 automobiles in the U.S. to replace airbag controllers that can short-circuit.

In C-Max, Fusion, Escape, and Lincoln MKZ models from 2013 and 2014, the airbag controller module’s coating can crack from thermal cycling—the rise and fall of vehicle-element temperatures—and expose internal circuits to moisture, causing a brief that can lead to improper frontal or side airbag deployment. Extra security systems that rely on the controller’s information, such as the pretensioners and stability manage, can be similarly affected for the duration of a crash. In these circumstances, airbag and stability-manage warnings need to seem on the dashboard.

Ford mentioned it discovered greater than regular warranty claims for airbag warning lights starting in November 2013, but given that several of the cars were already repaired, the automaker believed the difficulty had been contained. But this July, Ford noticed it was addressing an “unexpected increase” of airbag controllers and by August had determined the difficulty with the device’s coating. Owners will receive notice to replace the controller starting November 8.

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Ford has knowledgeable other difficulties with this particular airbag controller. In Could, Ford recalled nearly 600,000 2013–2014 C-Max and Escape models to reprogram controllers that could delay deploying the side-curtain airbags in an accident. Also in Might, Ford recalled more than 1.3 million sedans and SUVs, like the last-gen Escape, for power-steering failures, electrical fires, and trapped accelerators. In April, Ford recalled the very same vehicles in this newest recall for loose seatbacks that had been improperly welded at the factory. Only 43,000 automobiles were impacted in that instance, nonetheless.

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More ’Bag Blues: Ford Recalls 747,000 Cars for Faulty Airbag Controller

Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Deliveries Halted for Airbag Problem, GM Issues Further Recalls

Will GM ever be capable to focus on merely creating cars and trucks? The beleaguered automotive juggernaut has identified but yet another safety concern it demands to repair. Automotive News reports that driver-side airbag connections in the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks had been wired incorrectly to right the dilemma, the airbag’s sensing and diagnostic module will be reprogrammed.

GM started delivering the trucks to dealerships just 2 weeks ago Chevrolet and GMC dealers have been instructed to maintain the automobiles until the repair is implemented, which will come about within the next handful of days.

At least the fix will not be a key inconvenience. Just 49 cars are in the hands of buyers, a GM spokesman told AN. The rest of them are nevertheless at the production plant, in transit, or sitting in dealer inventory. GM says the trucks are safe to drive loaners are obtainable for spooked owners.

GM also recalled far more than 520,000 crossover SUV models globally (380,000 in the U.S.) based on the Theta Premium platform, such as the 2010–15 Cadillac SRX and all 457 Saab 9-4X units ever constructed. The dealer will verify the impacted autos for improper torque on a rear toe-link adjuster. 3 crashes have occurred, according to GM. Moreover, practically 90,000 units of the 2013–15 Chevy Spark will be recalled to verify for corrosion of the secondary hood-latch striker if it sticks, the hood could open unexpectedly. No U.S. incidents have been reported, but 3 situations of the hood popping open occurred in Europe.

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To the unsuspecting observer, the sheer number of recalls at GM is bewildering—there have been 71 in our industry so far this year. But CEO Mary Barra and the rest of GM’s leading brass seem to be taking no chances after the lax recall policy of preceding years and the subsequent political fallout have shaken the company to its core.

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Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Deliveries Halted for Airbag Problem, GM Issues Further Recalls