As part of its defect acknowledgement and recall expansion, which now lists nearly 34 million vehicles, Takata published ballistic testing data from thousands of airbag inflators received from the field. The results indicate a much worse problem than the company first suggested.
The highest failure rate of 2.16 percent was associated with inflators used in the 2004-2007 Honda Accord and the 2003-2007 Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe. The numbers equate to likely inflator rupture in more than one in 50 vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims the engineering analysis and testing have yet to pin down a specific root cause for the ruptures. The existing evidence suggests the inflator modules are not airtight, allowing moisture to enter the components and degrade the chemical propellant. The inflators consequently fire with too much pressure, potentially sending shrapnel into the cabin.
“The Department of Transportation is taking the proactive steps necessary to ensure that defective inflators are replaced with safe ones as quickly as possible, and that the highest risks are addressed first,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will not stop our work until every air bag is replaced.”
The highest failure rates have been observed in areas of high absolute humidity, however the NHTSA has forced Takata to implement nationwide recall campaigns for both driver- and passenger-side inflators. The fix campaigns could still be rolled out on a regional basis, however, reflecting the higher failure risk in states and territories with balmy climates.
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