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 That would nearly quadruple the 29 million inflators recalled so far
and linked to nine deaths in the United States.
In all, as many as 120 million Takata inflators in U.S. vehicles
contain the same volatile chemical - ammonium nitrate - used in
inflators that automakers have recalled, according to company
documents reviewed by Reuters and verified by two former Takata
managers. The total number has not been previously reported.
The Japanese supplier, one of the world's largest airbag
manufacturers, has said some inflators can rupture and explode with
excessive force, spraying metal shards at vehicle occupants.
The number of vehicles affected remains unclear because many have
more than one inflator, and not always from the same manufacturer.
Before recent recalls of 5.4 million inflators, federal regulators
said about 24 million defective Takata inflators were used in about
19 million vehicles that have been recalled since 2004.
For a graphic on how inflators work, see
http://tmsnrt.rs/1JDZ4vq
The former managers described "chronic" quality failures at Takata's
North American inflator plants, an assessment reflected in dozens of
company emails and documents dating back to 2001. Those problems,
the former managers said, make it difficult for the company and
regulators to pinpoint which inflators – among tens of millions –
pose a danger.
"You have no way of knowing," said one of the former Takata
managers, who has direct knowledge of the company's history of
manufacturing problems.
The former Takata managers, who still work in the industry, spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Takata declined to comment when asked about the possibility of
massive additional recalls and whether another 70 million to 90
million inflators still in vehicles could endanger drivers. A
torrent of new recalls could cost the company billions of dollars
and add years to the replacement process.
The company said in a statement that it is "cooperating fully with
regulators and our automotive customers and continues to take
aggressive action to advance vehicle safety."
Takata cited its agreement with regulators in November to pay a $70
million penalty to NHTSA in a settlement that included its
commitment to stop making inflators that use ammonium nitrate by
2018. It also pledged to declare all remaining ammonium nitrate
inflators defective by 2019 unless it can demonstrate they are safe.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration continues
to investigate all Takata inflators using ammonium nitrate, but it
has not yet found sufficient evidence to direct automakers to recall
the remaining inflators, said spokesman Gordon Trowbridge.
"This issue will take years to resolve," Trowbridge said.
MANUFACTURING FAILURES
Takata produced between 260 million and 285 million ammonium
nitrate-based inflators worldwide between 2000 and 2015, of which
nearly half wound up in U.S. vehicles, one of the former Takata
managers told Reuters, citing the company's production records.
Takata supplied those inflators to more than a dozen automakers,
according to company documents reviewed by Reuters. Its single
largest client was Honda Motor Co, which still owns a minority stake
in Takata and has recalled more than 8 million defective Takata
inflators in the U.S.
Takata produced most of the inflators that regulators are now
investigating at its main inflator plant in Monclova, Mexico or at
plants in Georgia and Washington state, according to company
documents. The documents noted persistent quality failures at those
plants, which a former Takata official said contributed to inflator
ruptures.
Last month, Takata told NHTSA in a filing that "manufacturing
variability" may have contributed to the ruptures.
The manufacturing problems are detailed in dozens of internal Takata
emails, spreadsheets and presentations reviewed by Reuters. The
records show the problems are more pervasive and continued for a
longer period than those previously reported. They extended beyond
the Mexican plant to the factories in Georgia and Washington state,
and they continued until at least 2014, company records show.
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Among the issues: metal shavings inside some inflator parts;
improperly welded inflator casings; bad propellant wafers, and bent
or damaged parts.
Those problems eventually could allow moisture to contaminate the
ammonium nitrate propellant, which in turn could lead to an inflator
rupture, one of the former Takata managers told Reuters.
A 2006 internal log of quality issues noted problems with inflators
sold to Mazda Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, BMW AG, Honda Motor Co,
Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota Motor Corp. The log listed
problems including metal shavings and contamination, broken or
missing clips, and deformed or misaligned parts.
In a 2010 memo, a Takata manager expressed concern about "how to
control moisture" in some inflators and worried that the company
would not be able to assure the safety of the devices.
In an email the same year about pre-production quality testing of
inflators built at the Monclova factory, a Takata manager expressed
confusion to colleague about the causes of pervasive defects.
"I do not understand why we are failing every lot," he wrote.
In company documents, Takata engineers referred to the failures –
when exploding inflators ruptured into metal fragments – as "ED,"
for "energetic disassembly."
RECALL TRIAGE
The long-running scandal has overwhelmed the company's ability to
furnish replacement parts as fast as automakers are forced to recall
vehicles. A Takata competitor, airbag supplier Autoliv Inc <ALV.N>,
is also making replacements for recalled Takata inflators and
recently told investors it expects to continue making those parts
through 2017, one year longer than originally planned. More recalls
would add more delays.
Regulators have so far tried to direct replacement inflators to
older vehicles that were operated in hot, humid parts of the
country, because ammonium nitrate becomes unstable when contaminated
by moisture and can cause the inflators to rupture.
NHTSA officials have said the agency prioritizes recalls for the
inflators it believes are most dangerous because the company has
limited capacity to replace them. Customers often wait months to get
the vehicles fixed after a recall notice.
The inflators already recalled are considered among the most
dangerous because they do not contain a drying agent, NHTSA
officials have said. All nine U.S. deaths linked to Takata airbag
failures so far have involved those highest risk airbags, according
to NHTSA records.
Takata Chief Executive Shigehisa Takada last year apologized to
victims and claimed responsibility for the dangerous defects.
The most recent death report came on Dec. 22, when Joel Knight, 52,
drove his 2006 Ford Ranger pickup into a cow on a rural road near
his home in Kershaw, South Carolina. He died after shrapnel from a
ruptured airbag inflator pierced his neck, the family's attorney
wrote in a filing with NHTSA.
In a regulatory filing, Takata confirmed the inflator ruptured in
the crash and that it was made in Monclova in 2005, but the company
did not specifically link the failure to Knight's death.
Shortly after the crash, the company declared 5.4 million more
inflators defective.
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