GM May Recall an Additional 4.3 Million Vehicles with Takata Airbags

General Motors says it may have to recall 4.3 million more vehicles for faulty Takata airbags, reports Automotive News.

In May, GM said it would recall 1.9 million vehicles with Takata airbags. In June, that total went up to 2.5 million. GM had estimated that recalling these vehicles has set it back a total of $320 million. Now, U.S. regulators may force GM to recall an additional 4.3 million vehicles, adding $550 million to its bill.

GM doesn’t believe the airbags in any of the 6.8 million vehicles pose a safety risk. However, GM is now talking with U.S. regulators and will have an chance to present evidence proving the inflators are safe.

“We presently believe that the results of further testing and analysis will demonstrate that the vehicles do not present an unreasonable risk to safety and that no repair will ultimately be required,” GM said in the filing. The automaker says there is no data of airbags rupturing in the vehicles with Takata airbags. Takata has been criticized for not using a drying agent with its airbags containing ammonium nitrate, which has been known to degrade with moisture.

In the filing, GM goes onto explain why it thinks the airbags in its trucks and large SUVs are safe. “The airbag inflators used in the vehicles are a variant engineered specifically for our vehicles, and include features such as greater venting, unique propellant wafer configurations, and machined steel end caps. The inflators are packaged in the instrument panel in such a way as to minimize exposure to moisture from the climate control system,” the filing said in part.

Takata airbags can explode with too much force and send metal shards flying through the cabin. The defect has been linked to 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Source: GM, Automotive News (Subscription required)

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