Takata to stop making inflater linked to airbag defect

New York

AS it prepared for a US congressional hearing on Tuesday, Japanese vehicle supplier Takata vowed on Monday to stop producing the driver-side inflaters that have been tied to a defect in its airbags. But the company said it will continue using an airbag propellant that experts said is dangerous.

Takata acknowledged earlier that its airbags could be defective, and could burst violently, sending shards of metal at passengers. It agreed to double the number of cars that need to be recalled in the United States to almost 34 million, the largest such action in US history.