Prior to Tuesday, automakers had recalled 36 million vehicles worldwide because of the problem.
Before Takata, the largest recall in U.S. history was in 1980 when Ford Motor Co. had to fix 21 million cars and trucks with automatic transmissions that could slip into reverse. The Takata recall dwarfs last year's highly publicized recall of 2.6 million General Motors small cars for defective ignition switches and Toyota's recalls of 10 million vehicles for problems with unintended acceleration.
Rosekind said the agency and auto industry are still trying to determine precisely what is causing Takata's inflators to explode, but action needed to be taken immediately.
Takata's air bags use ammonium nitrate to inflate in a crash. But the chemical, which can be used to make bombs, is volatile. So far, testing has found that airborne moisture can get into the inflators and cause the ammonium nitrate to burn hotter than it should, Rosekind said.
He urged car owners who get recall notices in the mail should immediately make an appointment to get their cars fixed.
On Feb. 20, NHTSA began fining Takata $14,000 per day for failing to fully cooperate in the investigation. That fine accrued to more than $1.2 million before it was suspended Tuesday due to Takata's cooperation, NHTSA officials said. Other civil penalties are still possible, they said.
Still, it likely will be months or longer before Takata and other companies can manufacture all the needed replacement inflators. Inflators will be allocated to older cars and to high-humidity areas first, where people are most at risk, the agency said. The expansion will cost Takata millions of dollars.
Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement that the action is a clear path to restoring the trust of automakers and drivers.
We are committed to continuing to work closely with NHTSA and our automaker customers to do everything we can to advance the safety of drivers, he said.
Associated Press
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