Is the Takata Airbag Recall Creating a New Problem (and Just Postponing Danger)?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Automakers are busy recalling tens of millions of vehicles to fix potentially deadly Takata airbags, but the fix won’t solve the problem, a former Takata employee says.

The scandal-plagued airbag manufacturer is using the same ammonium nitrate propellant in its replacement inflators, said Mark Ellie, Takata’s former engineering manager, in a report by WGME. Because of this, he claims the danger isn’t gone — it’s just delayed.

There are 10 U.S. deaths and over 100 injuries linked to the airbags. The danger lies in the propellant — the ammonium nitrate can degrade over time, helped along by heating and cooling cycles, and high humidity. Eventually, the chemical explodes with too much force, turning the perforated metal inflator into an anti-personnel mine aimed at an occupant’s head and neck.

The replacement inflators also contain ammonium nitrate, but with a drying agent to soak up humidity. When he supervised Takata’s airbag development, Ellie warned against using ammonium nitrate in its new designs. Takata didn’t heed his warnings, and began using the chemical in 1999.

“Ammonium nitrate is not an appropriate choice for a high precision explosive. It’s used in bulk applications, in open-pit mining and that kind of thing,” Ellie told the CBS affiliate.

Heat and humidity slowly turns the solid ammonium nitrate in its airbags into a powder with greater explosive potential. Adding a drying agent, like an ordinary desiccant — such as a silica gel pouch — added to packaging, only slows the breakdown. Recalled inflators might have to be recalled again.

“The desiccant only slows the progress, it does not eliminate the problem,” said Lillie. “And secondly, the desiccant does nothing to overcome the thermal cycling problem. There’s nothing there that solves that problem.”

After reviewing past patents, Lillie said Takata worked on a proper fix between 2000 and 2014, and likely didn’t find one.

The recall involves about 70 million vehicles with faulty airbag inflators, and more vehicles could join the list. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration controls the multi-phase process, which should be complete by the end of 2019.

In late June, the NHTSA issued an emergency notice for certain older Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with Takata airbags. Testing showed a failure rate of up to 50 percent.

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Poltergeist Poltergeist on Jul 28, 2016

    I can't speak for other manufacturers, but the vast majority of replacement inflators that we are installing in Hondas are a different brand than Takata. Most are Autoliv. Early on in the recall fiasco we were replacing Takata inflators with Takata, so I expect those will be recalled again down the road.

  • Roberto Esponja Roberto Esponja on Jul 28, 2016

    Noticing all the trash and lotto tickets on the floorboard of the pictured car, plus the numerous mardi gras bead necklaces hanging from its rearview mirror, this would have been a perfect car for CrabSpirits or CoreyDL to write a story on, too bad it never got posted on "Junkyard Finds"...

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