The latest act of the Takata case – the Japanese manufacturer of airbags that, following millions of recalls, had to declare bankruptcy in 2017 – could involve excellent companies such as Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover, Ferrari and Tesla, as well as many big engines such as BMW. , Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru and Toyota. As reported by the German weekly Der Spiegel, the United States Department of Transportation (NHTSA) has launched a new investigation into another 30 million vehicles equipped with potentially defective Takata airbags.
This procedure – yet another in a dispute that has lasted for 10 years and has involved 67 million cars, with the sad death toll of 25 people worldwide due to defective airbags – is currently known only to federal authorities and to interested companies, which have been informed by the federal agency NHTSA.
As Der Spiegel reports, the last recall of cars equipped with Takata airbags was in January 2020. At that time it was discovered that Takata systems that had been repaired and updated following the first recalls could also be faulty. The Japanese company had in fact used ammonium nitrate in airbags as an “explosive” to cause the instant expansion of the air cushion. But it was found that humidity and high temperatures can change the properties of the chemical, causing an explosion that is too strong and even firing metal parts of the gas generator inside the car and injuring the occupants.
