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posted by martyb on Sunday January 12 2020, @06:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the taking-it-on-the-chin-again dept.

This new round of recalls, announced Wednesday, affects US-market vehicles from BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and Subaru, among others. The problem with these already-repaired vehicles is that during the early stages of the recall, Takata replaced dangerous old inflators with new ones of the exact same design and chemistry.

FCA representatives are stating that, while a total of around 50,000 vehicles were affected since the first rounds of this particular recall went out in 2015, there are no new VIN numbers being added to the list. Meanwhile, Honda's representatives say the company's been working on this particular recall since June of 2019, six months before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration decision.

According to a report Wednesday by Automotive News, Takata believed that since the problem with the inflators was exacerbated by time, temperature and humidity, replacing the inflators with new ones was the best way forward. It wasn't.

Eventually, Takata reformulated the inflator's explosive propellant, adding a drying compound that helps to preserve the unit for much longer. That's what's now being installed in many cars, even though Takata went out of business and was purchased by a Chinese company in 2018. Some companies have opted to go a different way entirely, sourcing airbag inflators from different companies that had nothing to do with Takata.

According to the NHTSA, more than 38 million vehicles have been repaired in the seven years since the recalls started. It also estimates that there were nearly 13 million still-defective parts installed in vehicles as of November 2019.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by EJ on Sunday January 12 2020, @11:34AM (1 child)

    by EJ (2452) on Sunday January 12 2020, @11:34AM (#942485)

    Race drivers wear helmets and neck braces for a reason. That harness isn't going to stop you from breaking your neck.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday January 12 2020, @02:21PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Sunday January 12 2020, @02:21PM (#942498)

    That harness isn't going to stop you from breaking your neck.

    Honest question: what are the neck break rates with / without airbags? I think it's rather low, either way.

    Race drivers wear helmets and neck braces for a reason.

    Several reasons: high overall accident rate while racing, extreme delta V of collisions while racing, high probability of "wall strike" while racing, limited ability of racing vehicles to absorb the energy of accident collisions while racing.

    Don't see any race drivers wearing helmets or neck braces while driving on the public roads, for several other good reasons.

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