For nearly two decades, Takata has struggled to tame an inexpensive but unstable compound thought to play a central role in airbag ruptures that are linked to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.
As far back as June 1995, a patent application filed by Takata expressed concern over using the compound, saying that it was so vulnerable to temperature changes that its casing, under excessive pressure, “might even blow up,” a review of patent documents by The New York Times found.
