8 automakers recalling more than 12M vehicles

Associated Press

DETROIT

Eight automakers are recalling more than 12 million vehicles in the U.S. to replace potentially dangerous Takata air-bag inflators.

Documents detailing recalls by Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Ferrari and Mitsubishi were posted Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

They’re part of a massive expansion of Takata air-bag recalls announced earlier this month. Seventeen automakers are adding 35 million to 40 million inflators to what already was the largest auto recall in U.S. history.

In addition, the Japanese transport ministry on Friday announced 7 million more Takata-related recalls covering air-bag inflators without a chemical drying agent.

Friday’s U.S. recalls include passenger air bags in older models in areas along the Gulf Coast with high heat and humidity. But other areas of the country also are affected depending on the age of vehicles.

Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high heat and humidity and burn faster than designed. That can blow apart a metal canister, spewing hot shrapnel into vehicles.

The inflators are responsible for 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide. Two more deaths are under investigation in Malaysia.

The recalls are among the first unveiled by automakers since Takata agreed May 4 to the recall expansion, and more will be announced in the coming week.