Takata Air Bag Recall Now Largest In U.S. History
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A deadly flaw in air bags has sparked the largest product recall in American history.
The government said Tuesday that nearly 34 million cars and trucks have defective air bags made by Takata Corp. in Japan. The faulty parts have been linked to six deaths and more than 100 injuries.
The defective air bags can violently explode, spraying metal into a passenger's eyes.
Among those injured was Minnesotan Shashi Chopra. She was the passenger in a 2002 BMW driven by her husband. Following a minor accident near their home in 2013, the airbag exploded with such force that she was permanently blinded.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar called for a nationwide recall on Takata airbags, which account for 22 percent of the worldwide market.
There have already been about 17 million recalled vehicles in the U.S. Tuesday's announcement would nearly double that.
Previously, the largest reported recall in the U.S. was of 31 million bottles of Tylenol following a 1982 poison scare. The Takata air bag recall dwarfs last year's highly publicized recall of 2.6 million General Motors small cars for defective ignition switches and Toyota's recalls of 10 million vehicles for problems with unintended acceleration.
Mark Rosekind, the head of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, says millions of people are about to get notified that their vehicles are affected by the Takata recall.
"If you receive a notification from your manufacturer, make an appointment to have your vehicle repaired," he said.
Eleven automakers are affected by the recall, so a wide range of vehicles will need to be fixed. Repairs will be free.
The Transportation Department has fined Takata for every day it refused to comply with its investigation, and it is seeking to increase the maximum fine from $35 million to $300 million.
"Lives are at stake," Foxx said. "It is our job to protect them, so that's why we are doing what we are doing today."
The government started fining Takata $14,000 a day in February for not turning over reports they requested in an investigation.
Takata has agreed to pay a fine of more than $100 million, but the company will likely face more penalties in the future.
The Transportation Department set up a website to make it easy to find out if your vehicle is included in this air bag recall.
