DETROIT (AP) – About 85 million Takata air bag inflators that haven’t been recalled are inside cars and trucks now being driven in the U.S. and would have to be replaced if the company can’t prove they are safe, the government said Wednesday.
The number would be in addition to the 28.8 million inflators already slated for replacement in what has become the largest automotive recall in the nation’s history. If all the inflators are recalled, they would total almost 114 million. A recall that massive would take years to complete and cost Takata billions of dollars.
Unlike most air bag makers, Takata’s inflators use the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that fills air bags in a crash. But the chemical can burn too fast and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and hurling shrapnel at drivers and passengers. At least 11 people have died worldwide and over 100 have been hurt.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which made the estimate, says it doesn’t know how many vehicles have Takata air bags, but said many have more than one inflator made by the company.
Under the terms of an agreement reached with Takata last year, the Japanese parts supplier must prove to the agency that the unrecalled inflators are safe to use, or they must be recalled. The agency has said that it expects the number of Takata recalls to increase.