NBC San Diego 7 News
December 22, 2014
[…] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been pushing companies to recall older cars with air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. […] At least five deaths have been blamed on Takata inflators. […]
Bloomberg News
December 20, 2014
U.S. automobile recalls surpassed the 60 million mark for the first time in a single year, largely because of the rush to prevent more deaths from defective General Motors Co. ignition switches and Takata Corp. air bags. […]
Huffington Post
December 15, 2014
[…] GM knew about faulty ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade but didn’t recall them until February. […]
Bloomberg News
Dec 12, 2014
[…] Sicking documented 20 crashes in a row where he thought the Trinity terminals he measured hadn’t performed as designed, he said in a September 2014 deposition for the Texas trial, a transcript of which was provided by Harman’s lawyers. […] “The states are going to be left holding the bag, and motor safety is going to be affected by these decisions.” […]
Bloomberg News
Dec 3, 2014
[…] General Motors Co. (GM), eager to demonstrate proactivity in the wake of the biggest recall in its history, has disclosed 102 death and injury reports per 100,000 vehicles sold so far this year. By contrast, Honda Motor Co. (7267) has disclosed 2.4 reports per 100,000 vehicles sold this year. Last week, Honda said it failed to disclose 1,729 death and injury reports over 11 years, including eight linked to air bag deaths or injuries. […]
Bloomberg News
Dec 3, 2014
Honda Motor Co. (7267) has signed Autoliv Inc. (ALV) to supply air-bag inflators for recalled vehicles, reducing the automaker’s dependence on Takata Corp. (7312), which made the original, fatally flawed safety systems. […] “Takata made a decision to not go national with its recall and Honda had to step into the void,” Scott Upham, president of Valient Market Research, said yesterday in an interview. […]
NY Times
By DANIELLE IVORY
NOV. 26, 2014
[…] “Despite the severe consequences of airbag ruptures and mounting data demonstrating a safety defect, Takata responded that it did not agree with N.H.T.S.A.’s basis for a nationwide recall of driver’s-side airbags,” wrote Frank Borris, the director of the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation. “Takata has not provided any new information to support its position that a regional recall is appropriate, nor has Takata provided any explanation for driver’s-side airbag ruptures that have occurred outside the areas of high absolute humidity.” […]
Nov 19, 2014
ABC News
[…] Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine studied the effects of triclosan — an antimicrobial found in antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, body wash and other common household items — on mice, and said the results shocked them.
“It’s not a direct carcinogen,” said study author Robert Tukey, a professor of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology at UCSD. “It’s a tumor promoter.” [..]
06/19/02
Christopher Jensen
Plain Dealer Auto Editor
Consumer groups are demanding that the government prohibit regional automotive safety recalls, a practice they say puts motorists’ lives at risk while saving automakers money.
In a regional recall, the automaker limits the repairs to cars in states where the problem is most likely to occur, rather than carrying out the safety program nationwide.
[…] The NHTSA’s own Web site includes complaints from consumers that suggest that the regional recall system is not working. […]
NHTSA
November 18, 2014
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced it is calling for a national recall of vehicles with certain driver’s side frontal air bags made by Takata. This decision is based on the agency’s evaluation of a recent driver’s side air bag failure in a vehicle outside the current regional recall area and its relationship to five previous driver’s side air bag ruptures, all of which are covered by existing regional recalls.
“By demanding this national recall, NHTSA has demonstrated once again that it will follow data and evidence to protect the lives of Americans on the road and to hold manufacturers accountable,” said Secretary Anthony Foxx.
NHTSA contacted Takata and the vehicle manufacturers this week to call for the national recall of these vehicles after evaluating a recent incident that involved a failure in a driver’s side air bag inflator outside an area of high absolute humidity. Based on this new information, unless Takata and the manufacturers quickly agree to this recall, NHTSA will use the full extent of its statutory powers to ensure vehicles that use the same or similar air bag inflator are recalled.
As part of these efforts and its ongoing investigation into both the defect and the scope of the recalls, the agency also issued a General Order to Takata and all ten of the vehicle manufacturers that use Takata air bag inflators – BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota – requiring each manufacturer to file, under oath, a detailed report and produce all related documents about completed, ongoing or planned testing of Takata inflators outside the current regional recall areas. The agency is demanding this information to compel Takata and the affected industry to be frank with not only NHTSA, but the American public, as to what testing and additional steps they have done and plan to do to control and mitigate the risk associated with Takata’s defective inflators.
Additionally, NHTSA issued a Special Order to Takata, the second the agency has issued to the manufacturer regarding this defect, compelling it to provide, under oath, documents and detailed information on the propellant used in Takata’s inflators. In recent days, Takata has publicly conceded that it changed the chemical mix of its air bag inflator propellant in newly designed inflators. As part of its ongoing investigation, the agency will analyze the information received to determine if the chemical composition of Takata’s propellant mix may be a cause and/or contributing factor in the air bag inflator ruptures.
“We now know that millions of vehicles must be recalled to address defective Takata air bags and our aggressive investigation is far from over,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman. “We’re pushing Takata and all affected manufacturers to issue the recall and to ensure the recalls capture the full scope of the problems.”
In addition to the General Order and Special Order, NHTSA is issuing a Recall Acknowledgement Letter, a routine response to all Safety Recall Reports filed with the agency. The letter summarizes the details of the most recent report submitted by Takata regarding its defective passenger side air bag inflators and identifies the information gaps the agency is insisting Takata clarify to ensure it provides the full information required by law.
While NHTSA is not aware of either field incidents or test data suggesting that the problem affecting passenger-side air bags in the areas of persistently high humidity extends beyond those areas, the agency has been pushing the industry to perform testing to ensure that current recalls effectively cover vehicles with air bags that could be potentially affected by this defect.
The information the agency receives from Takata and the auto manufacturers will provide further information and details needed to continue its investigation into this complex issue. Responses to the General Order and Special Order are due to NHTSA by December 5.
