A logo of Takata Corp is seen through a car window outside the company's headquarter building in Tokyo. (Photo : Reuters)
The Takata airbag problem is getting from bad to worse as United States regulator recently reveal that seven more car companies might be subjected to recalls due to the use of defective airbags from the Japanese company.
According to NBC News, the Takata airbag problem has forced 11 auto manufacturers to recall more than 19 million vehicles in the US. The airbag recall has affected big motor companies such as Honda and Fiat Chrysler.
The recall was issued after regulators discover that the inflators can explode with too much force which in turn could spew shrapnel that has the potential to injure both drivers and passengers. Reports claim that the problem has claimed the lives of at least eight people and injured hundreds more.
US regulator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has sent letters to major manufacturers including Jaguar-Land Rover, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki Volkswagen and Spartan Motors asking for a list of car models that use Takata inflators.
The NHTSA stated on the letter, "It is expected that the scope of the current Takata recalls may expand as time goes on and will likely grow to include vehicles that are outside the scope of the current recalls."
The NHTSA said that one of the reason they sent out the letters is in order to estimate how many additional vehicles should be added to the growing recall list. The agency added that the letter is not a recall order but they are considering to issue one should they discover that the companies installed defective Takata airbags on their vehicles.
According to BBC, at the start of September only 4.4million airbag inflators have been replaces.
