Confusion clouds count of cars hit by Takata airbag recall

DETROIT (Reuters) -- How many vehicles on U.S. streets with possibly flawed Takata airbags seems to be less than half the 3 4 million initially approximated by national regulators, according to a Reuters investigation of recall records submitted to the watch-dog and supported by the automobile businesses.
About 16.2 million vehicles -- about one out of every 16 automobiles on U.S. highways -- might have one or two faulty airbags provided by Japan's Takata Corp., automobile manufacturing companies supported to Reuters. Just how many instances these automobiles might need to be fixed is still uncertain.
The Nhtsa on Wednesday said it hasn't counted the complete quantity of vehicles, but stated it was conscious of 30 million possibly flawed Takata parts that must be replaced. The service's web site still referred on Wednesday to the recall of 3 4 million automobiles with faulty Takata components.
As some regional Takata recalls are enlarged nationwide, the amount of affected vehicles could increase to 20-million or more, in line with the Reuters investigation.
The doubt about exactly how many vehicles in America should possess one or even more air bags replaced exemplifies the challenges the united states government faces in answering a security disaster that's connected at least six fatalities and hundreds of harms to Takata air bag inflators that could rupture unexpectedly and spray shrapnel in to car interiors. A seventh fatality could have happened lately in Louisiana, but hasn't yet been verified.
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind told a congressional hearing last week the Takata case was potentially "the biggest & most complex" callback in US history.
That remains to be viewed. When it comes to complete vehicles, other automotive recalls have been bigger. Ford Motor Co. in 1981 recalled 2 1 million automobiles to fix faulty parking equipment.
"We've really not yet experienced and said, 'alright, what's the amount of vehicles'" on the street that must be fixed, stated NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge on Wednesday. "Some problems must be resolved before we come to that closing amount."
First Takata recall
The first Takata-associated recall for faulty airbags, by Honda Motor Co., was issued in November 2008.
As the crisis h-AS spread to contain 10 manufacturing companies and countless vehicles, the U.S. security regulator has fought to determine how several vehicles might have faulty components, the precise cause of those flaws, how many instances these automobiles might require to be fixed, when the spare parts may be available and how many customers will have to get alternative air-bag inflators again.
Takata in-May informed NHTSA that it sent almost 34 million possibly flawed inflators for driver- and passenger-side air bags to 10 automobile manufacturing companies. Those producers have issued tons of recalls since 2008 covering numerous vehicles outfitted with these components, usually multiple times for the exact same vehicle.
A critique of NHTSA records reveals that some vehicles could happen to be counted as many as eight occasions -- one for each Takata-associated recall.
An undetermined amount of consumers have automobiles with two faulty inflators. Sometimes, one or both inflators are replaced.
Takata h-AS mentioned it's sent 4 million replacement components, and approximately 400,000 of these components are faulty and must be be changed again. That indicates some proprietors might need to make 2 or three excursions to the car dealer service department for repairs, but NHTSA can-not say for certain.
Inflated amounts
NHTSA stated it's targeted how many possibly flawed Takata inflators must be replaced, according to filings from the auto makers.
Trowbridge on Wednesday stated NHTSA failed to keep a data-base of vehicle identification numbers for vehicles impacted by the Takata flaws, and therefore couldn't effortlessly inform which automobiles might have one or two faulty airbags.
Instead, when customers make use of the Car Identification Quantity look-up device on NHTSA's web site, they can be linked straight to your vehicle manufacturing company's data base, Trowbridge stated.
Reuters combed through tons of flaw reports -- called "57 3" notices -- submitted since 2008 from the automobile manufacturers. It supported Takata-associated vehicle totals with all the manufacturing companies.
A Takata spokesman on Wednesday referred concerns about how many vehicles affected by faulty airbags to the automobile manufacturing companies.
Contact Automotive News

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09.06.2015
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