Regulations

Takata ordered to recall 34 million defective airbag inflators

Due to a new consent order with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Takata Corp. will recall nearly 34 million vehicles with defective airbag inflators, nearly doubling the number of cars and trucks under recall for the flawed safety system.

The defect has been blamed for six deaths worldwide and exists in the air bag inflators on both the passenger and driver sides of the vehicle. NHTSA issued a consent order that requires Takata to cooperate in all future regulatory actions that NHTSA undertakes in its ongoing investigation.

In addition, NHTSA announced its intent to begin a formal legal process to organize and prioritize the replacement of defective Takata inflators under the agency’s legal authority.

Shigehisa Takada, chairman and CEO of Takata, says the decree advances safety and restores the trust of automakers and the driving public. “We have worked extensively with NHTSA and our automaker customers over the past year to collect and analyze a multitude of testing data in an effort to support actions that work for all parties and, most importantly, advance driver safety.”

Investigations by Takata, auto manufacturers, and independent researchers have not yet established a definitive cause of the inflator malfunctions. However, NHTSA’s analysis of test results and engineering reports from independent organizations points to extended periods of moisture infiltrating the defective inflators as a factor. Under certain circumstances, over time, changes may occur in the structure of the chemical propellant that ignites when the air bag deploys.

The degraded propellant ignites too quickly, producing excess pressure that causes the inflator to rupture and send metal shards into the passenger cabin that can lead to serious injury or death.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says his agency “is taking the proactive steps necessary to ensure that defective inflators are replaced with safe ones as quickly as possible, and that the highest risks are addressed first. We will not stop our work until every air bag is replaced.”

Regulators expect to prioritize vehicle repairs based on risk, with the vehicles in humid locations to be serviced first. Takata must respond to all NHTSA information requests in a complete and timely fashion and continue to provide NHTSA with all test results and data related to Takata inflators. www.dot.gov

Transportation department to speed vehicle-to-vehicle communications rules

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to accelerate its timetable on a proposed vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications rule that would require vehicle-to-vehicle equipment – technology that allows cars to talk to one another – in all new vehicles.

DOT directed the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to accelerate the timetable for its proposal to require V2V technology. Additionally, rapid testing must be completed within 12 months of receiving production-ready devices to ensure V2V transmissions aren’t obstructed by radio interference.

NHTSA officials are working to ensure that the regulatory framework by DOT encourages the deployment of innovations demonstrated to increase traffic safety. Coupling the efforts of NHTSA with the Beyond Traffic draft framework, DOT regulators aim to form a modern transportation model that is safe, more efficient, more sustainable, and more economically productive.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says Delphi’s recent demonstration of a V2V-enabled autonomous vehicle shows that the technology is advanced enough to begin the regulatory process.

In April, Delphi completed a 3,400-mile journey from California to New York with 99% of the drive taking place in fully automated mode. A company spokesman has said, “Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication are key to achieving Delphi’s vision of zero fatalities, zero accidents, and zero injuries on the world’s roadways.” www.dot.gov

US scrutiny of GM to continue another year

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has decided to extend federal oversight of General Motors’ review, decision-making, and communications about potential vehicle safety issues for an additional year.

In a letter presented to GM in May, the extension requires GM to continue to report all safety-related issues to the NHTSA and meet with the agency regularly.

In 2014, GM agreed to a consent order, paid $35 million civil penalty, and unprecedented oversight requirements following its failure to report a defect in its Chevrolet Cobalt model, leading to non-deployment of airbags in certain Cobalt and other GM models. The year-long extension applies to certain requirements of that agreement.

More than 100 deaths have been attributed to faulty ignition switches on the car that could slip into accessory positions, shutting off critical safety equipment, most notably airbags.

NHTSA extended its oversight because the consent order has proven to be a productive and effective tool to proactively and expeditiously address potential safety-related defects, says NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind.

“Our oversight has been effective and GM’s in a better place. We expect that our agreement will help them continue to improve their safety culture,” Rosekind says. “Automakers can learn an important lesson from GM. Follow the rules, be accountable for your products, take good care of your customers, and always make safety the priority.” www.nhtsa.gov