BREAKING: Department of Transportation Recalls 35-40 Million Airbags; Time Plays a Factor in Risk

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Confirming rumbling from earlier today, the U.S. Department of Transportation is calling for the recall of 35 to 40 million Takata airbag inflators that pose a potentially deadly risk to motorists.

All of the company’s ammonium nitrate-based frontal airbag inflators that were shipped to automakers without a chemical drying agent are included in the recall.

“The acceleration of this recall is based on scientific evidence and will protect all Americans from air bag inflators that may become unsafe,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.

The doubling of the recall’s scope comes as the agency confirmed exactly what causes some of the airbags to explode, propelling shrapnel into the faces of those seated in front of them. At least 10 deaths and over 100 injuries in the U.S. are linked to the airbags.

Three investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that a “combination of time, environmental moisture and fluctuating high temperatures contribute to the degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators,” the Transportation Department stated.

“Such degradation can cause the propellant to burn too quickly, rupturing the inflator module and sending shrapnel through the air bag and into the vehicle occupant.”

Because the chemical degradation occurs faster under the right conditions — high humidity and temperature fluctuations — the recall is being phased to prioritize the highest-risk vehicles first.

Five recall phases are planned, beginning this month and ending by December 2019.

Older model vehicles are in the first group, and a list of the vehicle priority rankings can be found here.

A total of 28.8 million airbag inflators have already been recalled since the safety issue was discovered.

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Tresmonos Tresmonos on May 05, 2016

    Had this been a Tier 1 for one of the big 2.5, we'd have the idiot B&B dog-piling on top of comments like 'THIS IS THE REASON I BUY MY CAMCORD AND MY KIDS WILL BE SAFE IM DONE WITH GM SINCE LIKE THE 1960s' But instead we have the idiot masses panning this off on the Tier 1. If you get into an accident and you like your warm climate, your skull may experience the ethical fallout of doing business with the Japanese culture, motherf*ckers.

    • See 13 previous
    • Tresmonos Tresmonos on May 05, 2016

      @Pch101 I agree with your points. Delphi was in there with the D&R. They knew the failure modes just as well as the GM personnel. They signed the Control Plan agreement documentation and they likely helped author the DFMEA/PFMEA. They got off the hook far too easily. I need to find some sort of internal breakdown of this airbag case and read it. I'm sure I'd find it fascinating. Breaking it down and analyzing it would be a great addition to TTAC or any car blog. You've been good at grounding my bias recently - thank you.

  • Speedygreg7 Speedygreg7 on May 05, 2016

    To those who may know like Tresmonos or pch101; My inherited Japanese made Infiniti G20 is 14 years old, but is NOT currently on the list of recalled vehicles. I am suspicious of this since so many other Nissan of the period are included, but should I be worried about the airbag anyway simply due to its age? The warning sticker states to have it inspected after 10 years, but what does that really mean? What is checked and how is it done?

  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
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