General Motors agreed to recall 5.9 million cars to fix a defective airbag from Takata, a fix that could cost the carmaker more than $ 1 billion, according to the American Wall Street Journal.
General Motors has requested recall of SUVs and pickups, and the National Traffic Safety Administration said its research shows that Takata airbags in GM cars are susceptible to fatal blasts.
GM agreed to pull some of its best-selling models from 2007 to 2014, including the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra pickup, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Yukon.
The Takata air bag recall was one of the largest and most complex in US history, because it is found in 19 automakers and tens of millions of vehicles.
The National Safety Administration says a design flaw could cause the airbags to deteriorate over time, putting them at risk of exploding during collision and sending metal shrapnel into the cabin.
It added that the Takata air bag ruptured accidents killed 18 people in the United States and at least 12 others elsewhere, and GM had previously recalled some models with Takata bags.
She explained that it had conducted engineering and field tests that show that the air bags are prone to exploding as a result of long exposure to high heat and humidity, and the management gave the company 30 days to provide a schedule to notify vehicle owners and start the process of replacing the defective parts.
It is reported that the problems that led to the bankruptcy of Takata stem from its use of ammonium nitrate to inflate the airbag, and it was later found that this chemical became unstable and leads to explosion after aging and exposure to long periods of heat and moisture.
Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017, and carmakers have committed billions to cover the costs of replacing defective bags, including Honda, Ford, Tesla and BMW.
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