Oct. 23, 2015—The Takata recall, the largest vehicle recall in U.S. history, may expand to include even more vehicles, according to a report by USA Today.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that they are considering forcing automakers to accelerate repairs of Takata airbags. The ruptured airbags have killed at least eight people, and injured 98 people, according to NHTSA. The cause of the exploding airbags remains unknown.
In a new development, NHTSA said it has expanded its investigation to include a side airbag inflator that has ruptured in accidents involving General Motors and Volkswagen vehicles. NHTSA said it may hire an independent advisor to oversee the Takata fixes.
At an informational hearing, NHTSA regulators revealed details of Takata’s ballistic testing, in those procedures, 450 out of 115,000 recalled inflators have exploded in lab tests, according to USA Today.
Mark Rosekind, NHTSA administrator, said at an informational hearing that he would make a decision by Thanksgiving on whether to order faster recalls. The agency may also expand the number of vehicles and manufacturers involved in the recall.
"That’s part of what the investigation is looking at—whether or not we have to go further," Rosekind said, according the report.
