May 4, 2016: The expansion will phase in a recall of an additional 35-40 million inflators through 2019. The decision follows the agency’s confirmation of the root cause behind the inflators’ propensity to rupture.
The five recall phases are based on prioritization of risk, determined by the age of the inflators and exposure to high humidity, and fluctuating high temperatures that accelerate the degradation of the chemical propellant.
These phases will occur between May 2016 and December 2019. The expansions mean that all Takata ammonium nitrate-based propellant driver and passenger frontal air bag inflators without a chemical drying agent, also known as a desiccant, will be recalled.
Ruptures of the Takata inflators have been tied to ten deaths and more than 100 injuries in the United States.
