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Takata airbag recall grows, again

A deployed airbag.
Bee Forks
/
flickr http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Airbags have saved thousands of lives since their introdution, but Takata's airbags are potentially deadly when they deploy

Automakers have added another 12 million cars to a massive recall involving defective airbags.

Takata-made airbags can inflate with too much force and explode. Shrapnel from the devices has killed 13 people, 10 of those in the United States. More than 100 people have been injured.

The total number recalled over the defect is now about 36 million cars in the U.S. and 70 million globally. 

Twelve of the fatal accidents have occurred in Honda vehicles. One death occurred in a Ford pickup in Georgia in December, 2015.

Most of the fatalities were people driving older cars in hot, humid areas of the country. Experts say over time, heat and humidity can trigger the malfunction.

The airbag recall is the largest recall in automotive history.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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