10M more airbag inflators being recalled

Auto parts company Takata is reportedly recalling 10 million more airbag inflators in vehicles from multiple automakers due to the risk of explosions and shrapnel injuries.

This recall builds off of the bankrupt company’s 2015 settlement with U.S. safety regulators, according to The Associated Press, which added that Takata has had to recall roughly 70 million airbags in America under its agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Vehicles made by Audi, BMW, Honda, Daimler Vans, Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen were affected in the recalls, The Associated Press reports.

A spokesman for Fiat Chrysler said it began fixing the parts in 2015 and no additional vehicles are being recalled.

Ammonium nitrate was used inside of the airbags to create a small explosion that would cause the bag to inflate. However, the chemical compound can deteriorate over time if exposed to high heat and humidity. As a result, it burns too fast, causing the metal canisters to blow up, and hurling shrapnel in the process.

Takata inflators have injured hundreds of people around the globe and killed at least 25 people, the AP noted.

The company’s inflators began being recalled in 2001 in what became the largest auto parts recall in U.S. history.

Takata will have to recall millions more inflators if it cannot prove that ones using ammonium nitrate with a moisture-absorbing chemical are safe by the end of 2020, the AP reports.

Auto owners who want to know if their vehicle’s airbags have been recalled can check by entering their 17-digit vehicle identification number on the NHTSA’s website.

—Updated at 1:32 p.m.