Honda expands recall to replace Takata-made air bags

[July 09, 2015]  By Minami Funakoshi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Thursday it is recalling about 4.5 million more cars globally to replace air bag inflators made by supplier Takata Corp, the latest move in the Japanese automaker's efforts to deal with a safety scare that has seen firms around the world recall tens of millions of cars.

Of the 4.5 million, 1.63 million are being recalled in Japan, Honda said.

Takata is at the center of the recalls of vehicles equipped with air bag inflators that can explode with too much force and spray metal fragments inside vehicles. Regulators have linked eight deaths to the component, all in cars made by Honda.

North America is not included in this latest recall, he said.

The automaker independently collected about 1,000 Takata-made air bag inflators from Honda cars not covered in previous recalls for investigative purposes, which Takata then analyzed, the spokesman said.

Honda, based on its own analysis of data provided by Takata, found that a variance in the density of gas-producing chemicals in inflators may lead to abnormal deployment of air bags in the future and issued the new recall, according to the spokesman.

Earlier on Thursday, Honda Chief Executive Takahiro Hachigo told reporters that while his firm will continue to investigate the issue with Takata, and work as a business partner with the supplier, it has no plans to provide financial aid to Takata.

Honda last month restated its financial results for the business year ended March, to account for additional costs related to its recalls of cars equipped with Takata air bag parts.

(Editing by Chris Gallagher and Kenneth Maxwell)

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