Manufacturers Recall 1.7 Million More Cars With Deadly Takata Airbags

This recall affects Ferrari, Subaru, Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Daimler Vans

The long-running Takata recall may ultimately affect more than 70 million vehicles.

takata airbag inflators

Today, automakers recalled 1.7 million more cars fitted with Takata airbag inflators. As in previous cases, the inflators can send deadly shrapnel hurdling into the car’s driver or passengers in an accident. According to the Associated Press, BMW, Daimler Vans, Mercedes, Ferrari, Subaru, Tesla and Volkswagen all recalled some vehicles for the fault.

Takata inflators use a small amount of ammonium nitrate to create an explosion that inflates the air bags. However, humidity and temperature swings can cause the chemical to deteriorate over time. As of December 2018, 50.36 million inflators have been recalled, and automakers have replaced 27.2 million units, according to the NHTSA website.

According to an Associated Press report, this latest round comes after Ford, Honda, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler already released their 2019 recalls for 5 million vehicles.

2016 Audi Q3 steering wheel controls

Subaru is recalling 826,144 cars, including 2010 to 2014 Forester, Legacy and Outback models. Mercedes-Benz is recalling 288,779 cars built between 2010 and 2017. Volkswagen is recalling 119,394 cars, including 2015 to 2017 Passats, as well as some Audi models. BMW is recalling 266,044 cars built between 2000 and 2004 as well as between 2007 and 2015. Tesla is recalling 68,763 examples of the Model S built between 2014 and 2018.

And it doesn’t stop there. Daimler Vans (Sprinter and Metris) is also recalling 159,689 vehicles built between 2015 and 2017. Finally, Ferrari is recalling 11,176 of its cars built from 2014 to 2018.

In June 2017, Takata filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and also for bankruptcy protection in Japan, after being overwhelmed by the recalls. Ultimately, the company was sold to its largest competitor, Chinese firm Key Safety Systems. The U.S. arm of that company currently operates in Michigan as Joyson Safety Systems.