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CARS
Chrysler

Chrysler gives in, makes air bag recall global

James R. Healey
USAToday
A crash test dummy is used for a Honda Accord crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Honda is biggest U.S. buyer of Takata air bags and has recalled more than any of the 10 car companies affected by potential Takata defect.

Chrysler will give in to government pressure and make worldwide its existing regional recall to fix driver's-side Takata air bags, adding 3.3 million vehicles, including 2.9 million in the U.S.

The sweeping action brings to 3.67 million the number of Takata-equipped vehicles that Chrysler — now officially FCA US — has said qualify for free inflator replacements.

Neither Chrysler nor Takata acknowledges that there is a known safety defect with the bags, which means the repairs and replacements technically need not be labeled "recalls." Chrysler calls them "field actions."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been pressuring five automakers to expand what have been regional Takata recalls for driver's side bags into national actions. Including separate actions for passenger-side front bags, 10 automakers are involved. But NHTSA says the driver's bag risk is greater and more widespread.

Chrysler is the first to identify its expanded move as a "worldwide" action. Ford Motor, Honda and Mazda recently promised to make their driver's side Takata recalls national. The last of the five, BMW, has not announced its plans.

The impact of the expanded recalls is illusory for now. Lacking enough replacement parts for the Takata bags, automakers are funneling the ones they get into the high-humidity regions where the problem seems most likely to occur.

About 11 million vehicles with Takata air bags have been recalled in the U.S. Close to 20 million have been recalled worldwide.

Five deaths are linked to faulty Takata bags.

Though the big Japanese safety-equipment supplier refuses to flatly say there is a safety flaw in the bags, it previously said the explosive propellant used to inflate the air bags was mishandled.

That left it vulnerable to some conditions — so far believed to be the high humidity in certain places — that degrade the propellant. When it malfunctions, it deploys the air bags with too much force, ripping them free from their housings and blasting bits and pieces — shrapnel — into vehicle occupants.

Takata has refused NHTSA's demand that it declare a safety defect and begin a nationwide recall, instead of leaving it to the automakers who buy its air bags.

Takata bought big newspaper ads with a statement from Shigehisa Takada, Takata's chairman and grandson of the company founder.

The ads, which ran Thursday, quote Takada as saying: "Even one failure is unacceptable and we are truly and deeply saddened that five fatalities have been attributed to auto accidents where Takata air bags malfunctioned." Takada, 48, added, "We understand the public's concerns, and we take them seriously."

He said production of replacement parts is being increased, but — again — he did not specifically say the bags have a safety defect.

NHTSA says it will sue Takata to require a recall, if the company won't do it voluntarily, but that process can take months.

Chrysler has emphasized in its Takata-related announcements that it is taking what it calls "field actions" out of "an abundance of caution" and not because there is a known defect.

The automaker said Friday:

"Neither FCA US, nor Takata Corporation, the supplier, has identified a defect in this population of inflators. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers.

"More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components. All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the company's current production vehicles.

"Outside of Florida, one of the areas covered by the original action, no FCA US vehicle has been linked to an air-bag deployment of the type that has raised public concern. Nevertheless, the Company is replacing the Takata components tied to that concern.

"FCA US is aware of one related injury involving one of its vehicles, an older-model sedan. It occurred in a southern Florida region marked by persistent, high, absolute humidity — a condition believed to be a contributing factor in the air-bag deployments under investigation."

The original, regional recall was announced in June, and recently expanded.

The latest action affects an estimated 2,89 million vehicles across the U.S., another 258,586 in Canada, 66,436 in Mexico, and 99,030 elsewhere.

Newly covered by the recall are these 2004-2007 models:

•Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups

•Dodge Ram 3500 chassis-cab trucks

•Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen full-size SUVs

•Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger full-size sedans

•Dodge Magnum full-size station wagons

•Mitsubishi Raider and Dodge Dakota small pickups

Chrysler said it will notify the newly affected owners when they can get free repairs, but noted that it first will use its supplies of replacement parts in high-humidity areas. It made no forecast of how long it will take to begin replacing inflators in other areas.

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