Regulators confirms 85m Takata air bag inflators in US

[WASHINGTON] US auto safety regulators said on Wednesday there are about 85 million unrecalled Takata airbag inflators in US vehicles that will need to be eventually recalled unless the company can prove they are safe.

Reuters reported on Feb 22 that there were 70 to 90 million unrecalled Takata air bag inflators in the United States, citing a person briefed on the matter. Under an agreement signed last year, Takata has until 2019 to demonstrate that all of the unrecalled air bag inflators are safe.

This is the first public accounting by the US government of the total number of unrecalled vehicles with Takata air bags; 28.8 million inflators have been recalled by 14 automakers over the issue.

On March 31, a 17-year-old driver in Texas became the tenth person killed in the United States when a Takata airbag ruptured in a unrepaired recalled 2002 Honda Civic.

REUTERS