Takata airbag recall could expand to another 30 million cars

Officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are considering expanding the ongoing recall of vehicles equipped with Takata air safety bags, perhaps by another 30 million cars and trucks.

Safety officials, have opened a probe into the 30 million vehicles made between 2001 and 2019 by nearly two dozen automakers, Reuters reports. If those are added to the recall, it would substantially increase the total number of potentially affected cars and trucks in the United States. To date, more than 67 million have been identified in the U.S. —and more than 100 million globally.

The NHTSA has not issued any additional recalls at this time. The agency says there is no immediate safety risk and drivers do not need to take any current action.

Takata airbags have been part of an ongoing recall since 2016. Officials say they can hurl shrapnel if they explode after deteriorating over time due to heat and humidity.

The new investigation is looking into vehicles made by Honda, Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Ferrari, Nissan, Mazda, Daimler AG, BMW, Chrysler, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover and more.

More than 25 deaths have been reported due to problems with the airbags.

Automakers have already recalled millions of cars and trucks. Toyota has recalled nearly 7.5 million vehicles. Ford also announced plans to recall nearly 1 million vehicles due to faulty airbag inflators. Honda and Acura issued major airbag-related recalls in 2018 as well, as did Ford and General Motors, among others.

In 2018, said it would pay $300 million to settle consumers’ economic-loss claims connected to the recall.