Takata rejects nationwide recall for defective airbag inflators

Airbag supplier Takata has reportedly remained defiant amid growing criticism, flatly rejecting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s call for a nationwide recall to fix exploding inflators.
The agency last month highlighted two cases in which Takata inflators for driver-side airbags appeared to have ruptured in vehicles that were operated and registered outside of the high-humidity zones that have ben the focus of regional recalls, one occurring in California and the other in North Carolina.

Takata claims that the 2005 Honda Accord involved in the California incident is already included in a recall campaign, while the 2007 Ford Mustang from North Carolina was not inspected by the supplier or the NHTSA.

“Therefore, there is no way to ascertain what actually occurred during the incident, whether any inflator ruptured,” the company wrote in a letter to the NHTSA, as quoted by The Associated Press. “It is Takata’s current view that the currently available, reliable information does not support a nationwide determination of a safety defect in all vehicles equipped with the subject driver-side inflators.”

The Japanese supplier further argues that the NHTSA lacks the authority to force a supplier to issue a recall, leaving the decision up to automakers.

The company claims to have tested more than 1,000 driver- and passenger-side inflators from vehicles that were located outside of the high-humidity zone, with no failures so far.

In a response to Takata’s latest letter, the NHTSA criticized the company for failing to live up to its responsibility of keeping drivers safe. The agency has not yet announced any penalties for failing to comply with its demand.