For decades now, Takata Corporation has been in the business of motor safety. It develops and manufactures items such as seat belts, steering wheel systems, child seats and airbags. With all its years in the industry, it has collected an very impressive roster of clients, including Toyota, Chrysler, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi. Its website states that, "Our dream is to reduce the number of fatalities of traffic accidents to zero."
But according to WSJ, the four companies above have admitted to equipping their new units with what are now known to be defective airbags. The US Senate Commerce Committee Democrats have said that the airbags are rupture-prone as they lack a specific drying agent, which prevents moisture build up.
These airbags are being blamed for majority of the deaths and injuries from ruptures. All these units need to be replaced by the end of 2018, in what US officials are calling the largest automotive recall in the nation's history. In total, there are almost 70 million airbags.
Regulators are now monitoring Takata and have authority to order more recalls, if the situation calls for it. This is because some newer items are still considered defective, despite being the replacement for older airbags.
Reuters reported that Takata is the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation. However, it is still legal for automotive companies to sell vehicles containing the problematic airbag, so long as the item is recalled by the designated time. The troubles these companies could face, are product-liability lawsuits that could arise from accidents.
The airbags without drying agents are capable of exploding with excessive force and spraying metal shrapnel while doing so. As of now, there are at least 13 suspected deaths from this type of accident and more than 100 injuries. Takata-manufactured airbags containing the drying agent, however, have reportedly been incident free thus far.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles are supposed to become vulnerable to the exploding airbags only with long-term exposure to high humidity. Short-term, they are safe to drive with and are, in fact, safer than older models.
