Mercedes sets aside $560Bn dollars to pay for the Takata Airbag fixes that a large number of its models require.

Daimler said Thursday it would set aside around 500 million euros ($560 million) this year for the recall of some of its vehicles, which contain airbags made by Takata Corp.

The continued issues surrounding the airbag companies failure to get these faulty airbags replaced is becoming a major hindrance to many brands, and the costs associated with this problem is amounting to many billions of Dollars.

Earlier this month the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disclosed an extension of the Takata airbag recall, which will take place in the period May 2016 to December 2019 in several stages. 

Daimler said that it was not aware of any cases of defect, but that it would make precautionary recalls in the U.S. and Canada.

"Daimler AG will recognize a provision in the mid hundreds of million euros in the financial year 2016 in connection with the extended recall," the company said, adding that it would not have an impact on its operating profit for the year, which is still seen slightly higher than last year.

USA RECALL - FERRARI - over 800 cars over Eight models, all for airbag issues, from Takata Corp, AGAIN.

Luxury supercar maker Ferrari is recalling 814 vehicles, costing from $200,000 to more than $1.4 million, to fix driver-side airbags that were installed at an improper angle.

The airbags were discovered when Ferrari was doing tests on a 458 Italia’s steering column, according to documents posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website today. The airbag deployed in a rotated orientation, Ferrari said, which could cause injury.

The Italian manufacturer, owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, found that the leather skin covering the airbag module had been improperly glued and the air-bag cushions had been installed at the wrong angle. The recall covers eight different models made from December to April this year.

Although the airbags were produced by troubled Japanese supplier Takata Corp., the defect isn’t the same as in the Takata airbags that have exploded and sent shrapnel toward drivers and passengers. That recall affects more than 34 million inflators worldwide and has been linked to at least eight fatalities.

No fatalities or injuries were reported in the documents Ferrari filed with the U.S. regulator. As required by law, Ferrari will replace the driver-side air bags free of charge. The recall is expected to begin July 30.

The recall covers the 458 Italia, the 458 Spider, the 458 Speciale, the 458 Speciale A, the California T, the FF, the F12 Berlinetta and the LaFerrari. All the affected cars were manufactured between Dec. 19, 2014, and April 29, 2015.

Suggested list prices range from $202,000 for the California T to $1.42 million for the LeFerrari, according to Car and Driver website.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said July 10 that an initial public offering for a spun off Ferrari SpA was “days away.”

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USA - BMW expands TAKATA Airbag scandal to 420,661 vehicles.

BMW is recalling 420,661 U.S. vehicles due to issues involving Takata airbags, U.S. auto safety regulators said on Thursday. BMW of North America is recalling 20 models from 2002 to 2006 model years that contain Takata driver-side front airbag inflators. Regulators said the airbag module will be replaced.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said BMW examined its production and manufacturing records to determine the scope of affected vehicles and converted an existing national improvement campaign into a voluntary recall, increasing the number of affected vehicles to 420,661 from 140,696.

Takata is at the center of a global recall of tens of millions of cars for potentially deadly airbag inflators that could deploy with too much force and spray metal fragments inside vehicles. Regulators have linked six deaths to the component so far, all on Honda cars.

After months of resisting, Takata last week agreed with the NHTSA to roughly double its U.S.-based recall to 34 million vehicles spanning 11 automakers.

On Thursday Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said it would recall 4,066,732 vehicles from the 2004 to 2011 model years "equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture," according to a filing by FCA with the NHTSA.

Toyota, Nissan and Honda have expanded their Takata recalls over the past week.

USA - FCA expands TAKATA Airbag scandal to over 5.2 million vehicles.

FCA US LLC has identified which vehicles will be affected by expansions of ongoing voluntary recalls to replace certain air-bag inflators produced by Takata Corporation.

 

Precipitated by disclosures made by Takata to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FCA US is consolidating two campaigns with new actions affecting model years 2003-2011. These actions bring the Company’s global Takata-related recall total to an estimated 5,224,845 vehicles.

 

FCA US is unaware of any related injuries or accidents involving the newly affected vehicles. All affected customers will be advised when they may schedule service.

 

One campaign involves an estimated global population of 4,747,202 vehicles equipped with certain driver’s-side air-bag inflators. Affected are:

 

• 2004-2008 Dodge Ram 1500 pickups
• 2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500 pickups
• 2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 pickups
• 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 cab chassis vehicles
• 2008-2009 Sterling 4500 and 5500 cab chassis vehicles
• 2004-2008 Dodge Durango full-size SUVs
• 2005-2010 Chrysler 300, 300C and SRT8 full-size sedans
• 2005-2010 Dodge Charger full-size sedans
• 2005-2010 Dodge Magnum full-size station wagons
• 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota small pickups
• 2006-2011 Mitsubishi Raider small pickups

Of this population, it is estimated that 4,066,732 vehicles are in the U.S., while 374,508 are in Canada. The remaining vehicles are in Mexico and various markets outside the NAFTA region.

 

This action supersedes an ongoing NHTSA-approved recall involving the same vehicles and expands the affected global population by an estimated 1,407,942 with the addition of model years 2008-2011. Inflators replaced in connection with the previous campaign will again require service.

 

The second action to which FCA US has committed involves replacing certain front-passenger air-bag inflators in model-year 2003 Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. An estimated 437,947 are in the U.S.; 38,835 in Canada and 360 are in markets outside the NAFTA region.

 

This recall supplements two ongoing campaigns involving some of the same vehicles in certain U.S. regions subject to high absolute humidity.

 

Certain Takata air-bag inflators may deploy with excessive force, sending debris into the vehicle cabin. Vehicle age and consistent exposure to high absolute humidity are believed to factor into such deployments.

 

The Company is aware of one related injury. It involved a 2006 Dodge Charger and occurred in southern Florida, where there is high absolute humidity.

 

FCA US vehicles are no longer produced with either suspect inflator. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers.

USA - Honda expands TAKATA Airbag scandal by another 350,000 vehicles

• Approximately 350,000 vehicles¹ to be added to the prior passenger airbag inflator recall
• Vehicles previously covered by voluntary national driver airbag inflator Safety Improvement Campaigns (14V-351 and 15V-153) will transition into a formal recall with no new additional vehicles requiring repair

Honda will add approximately 350,000 vehicles to its recalls of Takata airbag inflators in the United States following a recently announced defect determination by Takata. However, most of the vehicles deemed at risk in Takata's defect determination report. 

These were already subject to previous voluntary actions taken by Honda, including a national Safety Improvement Campaign (SIC) for driver front airbag inflators and a passenger front airbag inflator recall that was focused on regions with specific environmental conditions.

It may take several weeks for Honda to determine the specific list and the final count of additional Honda and Acura vehicles included in the initial recall population of passenger side airbag inflators identified by Takata, but the mailed notification to registered owners will occur within 60 days, as required. 

Honda is announcing this action today to encourage owners to take their vehicles to an authorized Honda or Acura dealer for repair once they are able to confirm that their vehicle is included in one of these actions.

American Honda senior vice president of Parts, Service, 

Technical, Export & Auto Operations, Bruce Smith commented: "The vast majority of Honda and Acura vehicles impacted by last week's announcement were already covered by past recalls or safety improvement campaigns. In fact, many of these vehicles have already been repaired – we've replaced nearly two-million inflators since 2013, most of those in the last nine months alone."

Passenger Front Airbag Inflator Recall Expansion

Honda will expand the number of vehicles affected by the existing November 2014 passenger airbag inflator recall (NHTSA No. 14V-700) in the United States to include approximately 350,000 Civic vehicles from the 2005 model year and Accord vehicles from the 2006-2007 model years. 

While some 2005 Civic models were previously included, no Accord vehicles from the listed model years were included in the previous action. 

Honda has not received any claims of passenger airbag inflator rupture in these model year vehicles. The same free repair - replacement of the passenger front airbag inflator - will be completed on these additional vehicles.

The passenger front airbag inflator recall initially has been limited to areas² of the U.S. and its territories that experience consistent levels of high absolute humidity, based on the nature of Takata's defect determination. If Takata or the NHTSA later determine that a defect exists in additional vehicles or in other areas, Honda will expand this action as required to help ensure the safety of its customers.

Driver's Front Airbag Inflator Recall Transition

In December 2014, Honda initiated a voluntary national Safety Improvement Campaign (14V-351) to replace driver front airbag inflators in certain 2001 through 2011 Honda and Acura vehicles in the United States. 

That action was later expanded to include 2008 Pilot models (15V-153). As a result of the defect determination made by Takata, Honda will transition these same vehicles, already eligible for a free repair under the voluntary SICs, into a formal recall -- with no new additional vehicles requiring repair.

Honda expects to have specific vehicle information about the vehicles added to the passenger airbag inflator recall available online, through dealers and by phone through Honda and Acura customer service after June 15. We encourage any concerned owner to check their vehicle status now and again after that date. Consumer information about recalls can be obtained at 

www.recalls.honda.com and www.recalls.acura.com 

or by calling (800) 999-1009 for Honda owners or (800) 382-2238 for Acura owners, and selecting option 4.

Summary of models affected by one or more Takata airbag inflator recall or SIC (certain specific models only):

• 2001-2007 Honda Accord
• 2001-2005 Honda Civic
• 2002-2006 Honda CR-V
• 2003-2011 Honda Element
• 2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
• 2003-2008 Honda Pilot
• 2006 Honda Ridgeline
• 2003-2006 Acura MDX
• 2002-2003 Acura TL
• 2003 Acura CL
• 2005 Acura RL

^{1 Preliminary number of additional affected vehicles provided. The final number is pending review of vehicle registration records to determine all affected vehicles originally sold in or ever registered in the affected states and territories.}

^{2 List of 13 U.S. states and territories with affected vehicles currently included by Honda and Acura in the passenger front airbag inflator recall: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.}

USA - Ford expands TAKATA Airbag scandal to over 1.5 million vehicles.

Ford is expanding its safety recalls on vehicles that have certain Takata airbag inflators after Takata declared that those inflators are defective, bringing the total number of Ford vehicles recalled for Takata airbag inflators to 1,509,535 vehicles to date.

This expanded recall follows Takata’s notification to the U.S. NHTSA last week that certain of its airbag inflators are defective, affecting several automakers across the industry. For Ford, affected vehicles include:

• 2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
• 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles built at Wixom Assembly Plant for driver side airbag inflators;
• 2004 Ford Rangers built in North America at Edison Assembly Plant and
• 2004-2006 Ford Rangers built at Twin Cities Assembly for passenger side airbag inflators.

As disclosed in November 2014, Ford is aware of one airbag deployment that might be related to the issue, in which a driver’s leg was injured by a metal fragment when the airbag deployed after a crash. Ford has not seen any other inflator ruptures on Ford vehicles in the field or in testing to date. 

A total of 1,490,764 vehicles in North America are now affected by this expanded recall, including 1,380,604 in the United States and federalized territories, 93,207 in Canada and 16,953 in Mexico.

Dealers will replace the airbag inflator at no cost to the customer.

Customers who want to know if their vehicle is included in these recalls can visit www.ford.com  and click on safety recalls at the bottom of the page. Customers can then enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see any open safety, compliance or emissions recalls, as well as customer satisfaction programs.

The tally rises to 36 MILLION cars recalled due to the Takata Airbag Scandal, when will it end ?

The global Takata airbag recall expanded by millions more vehicles for the second time in as many days today, with Honda Motor Co. and Daihatsu calling back more inflators.

The latest recalls affect some 4.89 million vehicles at Honda and about 260,000 at Daihatsu, the mini vehicle subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. The safety campaigns came just a day after Toyota and Nissan Motor Co. announced a similar recall of more than 6.5 million cars globally.

The Honda recall doesn’t affect vehicles in the United States or Canada. Vehicles sold in those markets weren’t equipped with the possibly faulty inflators targeted in the latest action.

Honda’s recall covers 1.72 million vehicles in Japan that were manufactured from 2002 to 2008. Those 17 nameplates were made in Japan, Thailand and the United States. The remainder of the recalls falls in other regions. Honda said it will announce the regional breakdowns locally.

Daihatsu’s recall affects cars only in Japan.

Including the latest actions, about 36 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide since 2008 over Takata inflators, according to Reuters estimates. That includes 19.6 million from Honda alone, some 8.2 million of which are in the United States, Honda spokeswoman Yuka Abe said.

Honda and Daihatsu said they aren’t aware of any injuries or deaths linked to the latest recalls.

Carmakers are calling back more cars after investigations showed that certain inflators were susceptible to moisture damage over time and possibly prone to rupture. Honda said it is acting based on the results of a study provide in March by Takata Corp., the Japanese supplier that has produced millions of airbag inflators that may explode, showering occupants with metal shards.

Mazda Motor Corp. said it was investigating whether the current findings warrant a similar recall of its vehicles. A Mitsubishi Motors Corp. spokesman said the company couldn’t comment on whether it plans a recall before officially notifying transportation authorities. A spokesperson for Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries was not immediately available for comment.

That study, conducted independently by Takata, showed that moisture intrusion can cause the inflator’s propellant to lose density over time, raising the risk of rupture, Honda’s Abe said.

Honda said engineers have yet to determine the root cause of the problem.

Honda is acting in May, even though it received the study’s results in March, because it took time to determine how many cars were affected and where those cars were sold, Abe said.

Honda said it will replace the Takata-made driver-side inflators with inflators made by Autoliv and Daicel. Takata inflators on the passenger-side will be swapped for ones from Daicel and Takata. Abe said Honda opted to source from companies that can supply replacement quickly, and did not opt for Takata’s competitors because of concerns about Takata quality.

Daihatsu is replacing the Takata inflators with new inflators from Takata.

Toyota said Wednesday, while announcing its recall of about 5 million vehicles that it would opt for new inflators from Daicel on the driver-side because it could deliver the needed volume more quickly. Toyota will used Takata replacements for the passenger-side.

Toyota’s recall involved 35 models, including 1.36 million cars in Japan, 1.27 million in Europe, 637,000 in the U.S. and 18,000 in Canada, the company said in an email.

U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said Toyota and Nissan as well as Japanese government officials have been in contact with the U.S. safety agency over the last few days, and NHTSA will soon announce "significant new steps" related to accelerating Takata recalls.

Nissan said it was recalling about 1.56 million cars globally over the same issue, adding that no accidents or injuries had been reported. Nissan's recall includes 563,000 cars in Europe, 326,000 in North America, 288,000 in Japan and 274,000 in China.

In the U.S., the Nissan recall affects 12,725 units of the 2004 Pathfinder and about 251,000 Sentra compact cars from the 2004-06 model years from all 50 U.S. states. The company's latest move expands earlier recalls that were limited to regions with high humidity, a Nissan spokesman said.

Nissan will begin notifying customers in June, the spokesman said.

Six fatalities in Honda cars, including five in the U.S. and one in Malaysia, have been blamed on shrapnel from Takata airbags. At least 105 injuries are connected to the flaw, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said last month.

Regulators in Japan and the U.S. are investigating Takata airbag inflators that may malfunction, deploying them with so much force that the part breaks and hurls metal shrapnel at the car's occupants.

A group of 10 automakers hired aerospace and defense company Orbital ATK to test potentially faulty Takata airbag inflators. The Japanese component maker has also commissioned German research group Fraunhofer Society to investigate the cause of airbag ruptures.

Takata, which has forecast a return to profit this fiscal year, has said it's unable to estimate the penalties from the lawsuits associated with the airbags and hasn't set aside any amount to cover them as the cause of the defect is still being investigated.

Ryan Beene 

Hans Greimel

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