Takata air bag recalls

Following are some key events leading to the recall of several million cars fitted with potentially defective air bags made by Japanese firm Takata Corp.

2008:

* Nov 4 – Honda Motor recalls 4,000 Accords and Civics (2001 models) globally as Takata air bag inflators may produce excessive internal pressure causing them to rupture and spray metal fragments in the car.

2009:

* May 27 – Oklahoma teen Ashley Parham dies when her 2001 Honda Accord air bag explodes, shooting metal fragments into her neck. Honda and Takata deny fault, settle for undisclosed sum.

* July 29 - Honda recalls 510,000 Civics, Accords and Acura 3.2 TL cars (2001-02 models) globally.

* Dec 24 – Gurjit Rathore is killed in Virginia when the air bag in a 2001 Honda Accord explodes, severing arteries in her neck, court documents show. Her family sues Honda and Takata for more than $75 million in April 2011, claiming they knew of the air bag problems as early as 2004. Honda and Takata settle in January 2013 for $3 million, according to court documents.

2010:

* Feb 9 – Honda recalls 437,000 Acura cars and other vehicles (2001-03 models) globally, expanding earlier recalls.

2011:

* April 27 – Honda recalls 896,000 Honda and Acura 2001-03 cars in order to find defective Takata air bag inflators installed as replacement parts.

* Dec 1 - Honda again expands recalls. Globally, it says 304,000 are recalled as a bad inflator may have been installed at the factory, and 613,000 are recalled to find defective inflators installed as replacement parts.

2013:

* April 11 - Toyota Motor, Honda, Nissan Motor and Mazda Motor recall 3.4 million vehicles globally due to possibly defective Takata air bags.

* May 7 – BMW recalls 220,000 vehicles globally, raising the overall recall for the latest Takata-related issue to over 3.6 million.

* May 10 – Takata posts record $212.5 million annual net loss; books $307 million charge for recall costs; names Swiss national Stefan Stocker as president.

* Sept 3 – Devin Xu dies in a 2002 Acura TL sedan near Los Angeles from "apparent facial trauma due to foreign object inside air bag," according to coroner's report.

2014:

* June 11 – Toyota expands recall to 2.27 million vehicles globally; adding 650,000 previously not recalled in Japan, and 1.62 million overseas for a second time.

* U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opens probe that goes beyond previously identified glitches. NHTSA is examining whether driving in high humidity regions contributes to the risk of Takata air bag explosions. Takata says inflators in the recall were supplied to Honda, Toyota, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Mazda and Nissan.

* June 23 — Honda, Nissan and Mazda recall 2.95 million vehicles, expanding April 2013 recall, bringing the total recall to about 10.5 million vehicles over five years. Later, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, BMW, Chrysler and Ford say they are recalling more vehicles in some U.S. high humidity regions.

* June 26 – Takata CEO apologizes to shareholders at AGM.

* June 30 – Takata says some potentially defective inflators also shipped to Subaru and Mitsubishi Motors.

* July 16 – BMW recalls about 1.6 million cars worldwide to replace Takata air bags, going beyond the regional U.S. recall.

* July 18 - Takata says to book special loss of about 45 billion yen ($440 million) in April-June for recalls.

* Oct 2 – Orlando woman Hien Thi Tran dies four days after her 2001 Honda Accord air bag explodes, shooting out shrapnel, according to police report.

* Oct 17 - Reuters, based on a review of internal Takata documents, reports Takata struggled to meet its own standards for safety in manufacturing air bag inflators at its plant in Monclova, Mexico.

* Oct 20 – Toyota recalls 247,000 vehicles in the U.S. for Takata air bag problems.

* Oct 21 - Takata shares drop 23 percent in Tokyo.

* Oct 22 - NHTSA expands the total number of U.S. vehicles recalled involving Takata air bags to 7.8 million over the past 18 months.

* Oct 27 – A first case seeking class-action status is filed in Florida, claiming Takata and automakers, including Honda and Toyota, concealed crucial information on defective air bags.

* Oct 30 - NHTSA orders Takata to provide documents and answer questions under oath in air bag probe. On Nov 5, NHTSA orders Honda to do the same.

* Nov 6 - Takata warns of a bigger full-year loss, and pays no interim dividend for first time since 2006.

* Nov 7 - New York Times reports Takata ordered technicians to destroy results of tests on some air bags after finding cracks in inflators. Takata later refutes this.

* Democratic lawmakers call for criminal probe into Takata.

* Nov 10 - Takata shares drop 17 percent to 5-1/2 year low.

* Nov 12 - Takata tells Reuters it has modified the composition of an air bag propellant, giving no details.

* Nov 13 - Honda discloses fifth fatality, and first outside the U.S. Law Suk Leh, nine months pregnant, died in Malaysia on July 27 after being hit by a piece of metal from a Takata air bag in her Honda City compact car.

* Honda recalls another 170,000 cars in Asia and Europe, taking its total Takata-related recalls to nearly 10 million.

* Takata says its U.S. unit subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to produce air bag-related documents.

* Nov 18 - NHTSA tells Takata, Honda, Ford, Mazda, BMW and Chrysler to expand nationwide a U.S. regional recall.

source: interaksyon.com

US urges air bag repairs as Toyota expands recall

WASHINGTON — US authorities on Monday urged owners of vehicles with potentially deadly defective Takata air bags to seek repairs as Toyota recalled about 247,000 vehicles over the parts flaw.

The Transportation Department’s safety agency issued a bulletin to owners of 4.7 million vehicles made by Toyota and five other automakers, highlighting an apparently higher level of danger from the faulty air bags for car owners in areas with high humidity.

“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges owners of certain Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, and General Motors vehicles to act immediately on recall notices to replace defective Takata air bags,” the NHTSA said.

“The message comes with urgency, especially for owners of vehicles affected by the regional recalls in the following areas: Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.”

The air bag could improperly inflate and rupture, potentially sending shrapnel into the car’s occupants.

Honda has the highest number of vehicles covered by the recall at roughly 2.8 million. Toyota is second at 778,000, followed by BMW at 574,000.

The high-profile alert came as Toyota Motor Sales USA said it was recalling Toyota Corolla, Matrix, Sequoia, Tundra and Lexus cars, sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks produced from 2001 to 2004 to replace the air bag inflator for the front passenger seat.

Toyota expanded on an earlier airbag-related recall especially to include vehicles in high humidity areas, including southern Florida, Gulf Coast states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where the vehicles “appear to warrant immediate action” based on testing by Takata.

According to Toyota, Takata is still testing whether high humidity is an important factor in the airbag problem.

Toyota said it had received no reports yet of injuries or fatalities related to the airbag problem.

Still, the seriousness of the risk to occupants of the front seat was underscored in the company’s details on the recall process .

If a replacement inflator part is not available when the vehicle is brought in for servicing, the dealer will temporarily disable the front passenger air bag.

In that case, the dealer will install a warning that the front passenger seat should not be occupied until the repair has been completed.

Toyota’s US-traded shares were up 3.1 percent at $113.24 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

source: interaksyon.com