The Takata airbag crisis continues more a decade after it officially began, with United States authorities blaming a defective inflator for yet another death six years after it happened.
Reuters reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has confirmed the 28th death in the US since 2009 that was the result of a defective airbag from the defunct company.
That brings the global death toll to at least 40, with more than 100 million vehicles recalled worldwide in that time.
The NHTSA confirmed the driver of a 2004 Honda Civic was killed in Alabama in 2018.
The agency said in a statement the confirmation was based on information submitted by Honda, which itself has confirmed 20 US airbag-related deaths in Honda and Acura vehicles.
UPDATE, 12/9/24 – Honda Australia has confirmed a reference on American Honda’s website, concerning a report of a local Takata airbag-related death still pending investigation, was out-of-date. A coronial inquest into this death was concluded in 2021, and we have updated the article to reflect this.
Additionally, Carscoops reports word from Honda that the Civic was travelling at a high rate of speed, which made it difficult to pinpoint the vehicle’s Takata airbag as the cause of death.
Honda has reportedly said it has replaced or accounted for 95 per cent of recalled Takata airbag inflators, and it remains committed to fixing the remaining recalled vehicles.
The NHTSA says “minor crashes can result in exploding Takata airbags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries”.
A number of manufacturers in the US have this year warned owners to not drive their vehicles until they had faulty Takata airbag units replaced. The list includes Nissan, Stellantis (Dodge, Ram), and Toyota, adding to the ongoing list of recalls from the past decade.
In Australia, three million vehicles have so far been recalled.
A coronial inquest into the death of a man in 2017 found it was caused by a faulty Takata airbag in his 2007 Honda CR-V, which projected shrapnel when it deployed in a minor collision.
The faulty Takata airbags are reportedly affected by certain outside conditions, in which moisture can enter into the propellant, destabilising it.
When the airbag is activated during a crash, the explosive reaction between the propellants may cause the metal inflator housing to rupture. Fragments of this housing – effectively shrapnel – could strike the vehicle occupants, with potentially fatal consequences.
A compulsory recall notice for all vehicles fitted with faulty Takata airbags was issued in Australia in 2018, which includes more than 20 brands. In the same year, Takata filed for bankruptcy.
You can check whether your car is affected by the Takata airbag recall at the “Is My Airbag Safe” website.
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