Takata says recall decision is up to automakers

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By TOM KRISHER and YURI KAGEYAMA

DETROIT (AP) — Japan's Takata Corp. refused to comply with a U.S. government demand for an expanded recall of its air bags that can explode and shoot out shrapnel, and instead passed along the crucial decision to automakers.

The response, which the U.S. immediately criticized as inadequate, sets the stage for a showdown between the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the company, when they appear before U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

So far, 14 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled due to the air bag problem, including 8 million in the U.S. Takata has yet to pinpoint a cause, even though the recalls started a decade ago.

The U.S. government wants Takata and automakers to add millions of cars across the U.S. to recalls now limited to areas with high humidity. The automakers indicated Tuesday that they want to do their own testing, in addition to tests underway at Takata.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Thursday, April 17, 2014, file photo, journalists visit Takata Ignition Systems in Schoenebeck, Germany. Japan's Takata Corp. refused to comply with a U.S. government demand for an expanded recall of its air bags that can explode and shoot out shrapnel, and instead passed along the crucial decision to automakers. The response, which the U.S. immediately criticized as inadequate, sets the stage for a showdown between the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the company, when they appear before U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Dec. 3.(AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141203/us-air-bag-recalls-1f437f5eb9.html

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Takata Executive to Face Questions at House Hearing

Fire up the Jiffy Pop. I wish I could suddenly take sick and head over there. Wait; there's no need to do that, because:

The hearing will be on C-Span3.

Takata Executive to Face Questions at House Hearing

BY ABC News Radio | December 3, 2014

(WASHINGTON) — Officials from Japanese auto supplier Takata will appear before Congress on Wednesday to answer questions regarding their recalled airbags.

The hearing will take place at about 10 a.m. Wednesday. Among those appearing will be Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata’s senior vice president for global quality assurance, as well as representatives from Toyota, Honda and BMW. ... The focus of the hearing will be on Takata’s airbags, which can rupture, causing injury or death to the driver of the vehicle. The flaw has led to the recall of over 11 million vehicles.

Also on the docket will be Honda’s failure to follow regulation regarding Early Warning Reports. Carmakers are required to report all crashes involving injury or death to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA claims that Honda failed to report significant numbers of such crashes.
....

In a statement released ahead of the hearing, Takata’s chairman outlined the company’s response to the ruptures. The statement says that the company “can and must do more.” It also outlines four steps the company will take, including forming an independent Quality Assurance Panel, appointing two former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Transportation to positions as special counsels to Takata, increasing production of replacement kits and “redoubling our efforts to learn all we can from past events.”

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Honda Will Do A National Airbag Recall, Finally

Honda Will Do A National Airbag Recall, Finally

Patrick George
30 minutes ago

Finally realizing that "You should be fine if you don't live in a humid state, probably" doesn't actually make drivers feel fine at all, officials at Honda announced this morning they will finally conduct a nationwide recall to fix the land mine-esque Takata airbags in some of their cars.

Honda made the announcement this morning during Congressional subcommittee hearing. The airbags in question are on the driver's side. Previously the recall of the explosive airbags, now linked to several deaths, was only in humid states, but now it will go nationwide. From The Detroit News:

"Why are we doing this? Because our customers have concerns and we want to address them," said Rick Schostek, an executive vice president at Honda North America in testimony before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.