Honda Adds 20 Million Takata Airbag Inflators to Its Global Recalls

Honda Motor Co. will recall at least 20 million additional Takata Corp. airbag inflators worldwide, sources tell The Nikkei. The expansion would bring the company’s global total to 50 million such devices.

The carmaker said earlier today it has announced no such campaign, which would go beyond the broader industrywide recall ordered by safety officials in the U.S. last week.

Honda has been the largest customer among at least 17 carmakers Takata supplied. The flawed inflators use a propellant that can deteriorate over time, then explode when triggered in a crash. The defect has been linked to 13 fatalities and more than 130 injuries.

A dozen carmakers already are recalling 29 million Takata inflators in the U.S. Last week the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered Takata to prepare to recall as many as 40 million more devices in the American market.

The auto industry’s initial callbacks have centered on driver’s-side frontal airbags in vehicles exposed to hot and humid conditions. But vehicle manufacturers have been widening their recalls to include passenger-side frontal airbag systems and to vehicles located in cooler climates.

NHTSA’s expansion covers any Takata inflator, regardless of climatic considerations, that was made without a drying additive intended to help stabilize the inflator propellant. The new recall described by The Nikkei would extend the same policy to its vehicles in other markets.

If other carmakers take similar action, the total number of Takata inflators being recalled could balloon to 118 million devices, New York City-based investment bank Jefferies Group LLC calculates. The firm estimates the cost of such a recall could exceed 1 trillion yen ($9.3 billion).