Takata Tests Show Air Bag Failures Occur in Hot Regions

Mar 03, 2015 10:38 AM EST | Matt Mercuro

Takata announced on Monday that it plans to double its capacity in order to make replacement air bag inflators during the next six months and it continues testing parts that could possibly explode with too much force.

The Japanese supply company said it wants to produce about 900,000 replacement kits per month by this September, which is up from the 450,000 Takata makes now, according to Reuters.

Defective parts, which activate air bags in the event of a collision, have been linked to six deaths so far and dozens of injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A number of different lawsuits have been filed and U.S. regulators at NHTSA claim the air bags explode with too much force, spraying metal fragments at those inside the vehicle.

On Monday, Takata Chief Executive Shigehisa Takada said in a statement about testing that "definitive conclusions have not yet been reached." He added that testing has supporting the company's initial analysis that long-term exposure and age to persistent heat and high absolute humidity are main factors in the malfunctioning inflators, according to Reuters.

Takada said that variability in vehicles is another factor and Takata still considers variability in inflator manufacturing as a factor.

The company said the newer parts and those not exposed to prolonged humidity and heat are "safe." Takata is also working with suppliers to increase the availability of replacement parts.

Last week, a U.S. safety regulator ordered Takata to preserve all air bag inflators removed from vehicles during a recall process as evidence for a federal investigation and private litigation cases.

The order marked the first time that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered any company to preserve evidence for private litigation, Gordon Trowbridge, a spokesman for NHTSA, said to Reuters.

Late last month, NHTSA announced that it would fine Takata $14,000-per-day for failing to fully cooperate with the government's probe. Since 2008, 25 million vehicles worldwide with Takata air bags have been called back.

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