Auto giant recalls another 4.5 million cars over exploding airbags

folarin okunola

July 9, 2015 3:46 PM

Ten global automakers, including General Motors and Germany's BMW, are being forced to recall some 34 million cars inside the United States alone.

The defect can cause airbags to inflate with dangerously explosive force upon impact.

According to reports, Kevin Kennedy, executive vice president at Takata's US arm TK Holdings, recently told US lawmakers that the company -- one of the world's biggest airbag suppliers -- is still searching for the main cause of the deadly explosions.

But he said Takata's investigation was already focused on the possible instability of the main ammonium nitrate propellant in airbag inflators, particularly in humid environments, sources say.

Sources reveal that some ten global automakers, including General Motors and Germany's BMW, are being forced to recall some 34 million cars inside the United States alone to replace the inflators -- the biggest recall in US history.

According to multiple reports, US safety regulators began fining Takata $14,000 a day in February to pressure it to supply documentation on internal probes into airbag issues dating back more than a decade.

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