TOKYO: Not only are federal regulators probing an incident involving potentially defective side air bags made by Japanese automotive supplier Takata, General Motors confirms it recently had an overseas recall over the issue.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is taking a look at the foreign recall even as it continues its previously announced probe of the incident involving a 2015 Volkwagen Tiguan crossover. NHTSA says it has received responses to questions it posed to Volkwagen and Takata concerning the rupture of a side air bag in the Tiguan.
But at the same time, the agency is now aware of a recall in May of 334 Chevrolet Malibus destined for sale in South Korea, Singapore and the Middle East. A side air bag module failed during a routine lot test conducted by Takata in March.
If the inflator malfunctions, it can spew shrapnel that can potentially strike occupants much like that from the front-and side-air bags that are under recall in millions of cars from 11 makers.
But there are differences. For one, the side airbags don’t directly expose passengers to shrapnel like the front and side bags. Also, the latest cases involve new or near-new vehicles, not the older ones at the center of the recalls. No new recall has been yet ordered on Takata side airbags.
NHTSA has also revised the number of cars involved in the Takata air bag recalls. Instead of more than 33 million originally estimated, the total now is now 23.4 million. Of those, about 4 million vehicles are under recall for both driver and passenger air bags. Some 19.2 million vehicles have air bags inflators that have not been repaired.
