Takata Says Heat, Humidity Cause Inflator Failures

Takata Corp. says tests appear to confirm that failures of its airbag inflators are caused by long exposure to heat and high absolute humidity.

The company told engineers from several carmakers on Monday that its analysis, along with tests by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, support Takata's initial analysis.

But CEO Shigehisa Takada also cautions that Takata has reached no definitive conclusions. He adds the company "continues to consider" that variations in its manufacturing processes may be a contributing factor in the problem an issue it reportedly acknowledged months ago.

Misfiring Takata inflators have been linked to five fatalities and more than 100 injuries. They also have prompted 10 carmakers to recall some 17 million vehicles over the past six years.

The slow pace of Takata's progress prompted frustrated carmakers last week to launch their own independent attempt to clarify the cause of the failures. One of their worries is that the replacement inflators now being installed could eventually fail for the same reasons.