(Reuters) – Takata Corp’s bankruptcy filing last month was meant to draw a line under the auto industry’s biggest safety recall, but last week’s announcement of more air bag inflator recalls suggests automakers could face fresh liabilities in the future.
In late-2015, U.S. regulators gave Takata until the end of 2019 to prove that its air bag inflators – which now have a drying agent to combat moisture that can degrade the ammonium nitrate compound in its inflators, with potentially lethal results – are also safe.
If Takata fails that test – and some industry consultants, explosives experts and former employees question whether the workaround guarantees safety over the long-term – it may have to recall all its ammonium nitrate-based inflators.
