Developments In The Takata Controversy

A short while ago, Takata got itself into the middle of a controversy: some of their airbags (which are standard on a disturbingly large number of cars) were equipped with a defective inflator. When vehicles equipped with these airbags are in a humid area for long enough, in the event of a crash said inflator could explode with too much force, bursting the airbag and sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle occupant's face. So far, 139 people have been injured.

Now, reports state that Takata actually knew about the problem, but chose to ignore it. They allegedly organized tests back in 2004 on a number of vehicles. When the engineers gave the results of their investigation to the the company's board of directors, they were told to destroy the documents and forget about it. Takata finally launched a recall in 2008, but it only included a fraction of all the vehicles that came with defective airbags.

To this day, more than 7 million vehicles are affected. Model-years range from 2000 to 2008. However, the problems have only been reported in hot and humid regions, meaning we are safe... For now.

Share on Facebook

More on the subject

RecallsTakata Massive Airbag Recall Intensifies
We have already covered the massive recall caused by the defective airbags manufactured by Takata, but it seems the problem is even worse than we initially thought. This morning, General Motors (which has installed Takata airbags in the 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe and Saab 9-2X) sent warning letters to the owners …
RecallsA Huge Cross-Brand Recall over Third-Party Airbags
What do Ford, Mazda, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Chrysler and Nissan have in common (besides the fact that they all build 4-wheeled vehicles powered by gasoline engines)? Well, it would seem they all bought airbags from a manufacturer in Japan that may have quickly skipped over some important details when the …
RecallsSpring of Recall: Hyundai Tucson Tagged for its Bags
As surely as the sun will come up tomorrow morning, a new recall will hit the automotive industry. So far, GM is far ahead in the score (or far behind, depending on how you count) with millions of recalled vehicles. Some of those even had to be recalled more than …
RecallsTakata Will Recall ALL Its Airbags
New developments in Takata’s disastrous airbag odyssey: after being forced to recall more than 7 million defective airbags due to a faulty inflator, the manufacturer has now been forced to recall the entirety of their production run in the United States. So far, Takata has tried to contain their recall …
RecallsTakata Recall: A Meeting Between Automakers
Since the massive Takata safety defect came to light, things have been going downhill: the Japanese equipment manufacturer tried to deny, and then limit the recalls to an absolute minimum when the government asked them to repair their defective products. The NHTSA then forced Takata to recall every single defective …
NewsHonda Has To Pay A $70 Million Fine
After a thorough investigation, the NHTSA has just announced their verdict on Honda’s responsibility regarding some missing accident and repair reports: the Japanese manufacturer has been accused of having failed to report more than 1,700 cases of injuries and warrantied repair. Honda will have to pay a fine of 70 …
RecallsTakata Airbags: More And More Recalls
The Takata airbag recall is still ongoing, with a new wave of vehicles to be recalled. More than 10 million cars worldwide have been added to the list of vehicles equipped with a problematic airbag. As a reminder, Japanese safety equipment manufacturer Takata was accused of selling a defective airbag …
RecallsMore BMWs Affected by Takata Recall
We haven’t talked about it for a few weeks now, but the Takata airbag scandal isn’t done yet: more than 104,000 vehicles from BMW have been added to the long casualty list in Canada. As a reminder, the problem is located in the airbag’s inflator. In the affected vehicles, said …