Takata nearly doubles airbag recall to 34 million units

Takata, the Japanese manufacturer of vehicle airbags, nearly doubled its recall of defective airbags to 34 million units. Before today’s announcement, the company had recalled 18 million units.

The airbag inflators used by Takata have been found to explode, sending dangerous metal fragments directly at passengers and drivers. According to The New York Times, six deaths have been directly linked to the flaw, as well as over 100 injuries.

Takata had initially refused to call for a recall, even after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested that they do so. So, in February, federal regulators started fining the company $14,000 a day until Takata finally gave in.

CNNMoney reports that most of the cars that use Takata airbags were made by Honda, although other models built between 2000 and 2011 were found to have defective airbags. According to a special site set up by the NHTSA, cars made by BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Nissan and Toyota are also included in the recall.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with NHTSA,” Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said Tuesday. “[It} presents a clear path forward to advancing safety and restoring the trust of automakers and the driving public.”

This goes down as one of the largest recalls in automotive history. However, Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, told CNN Money that major recalls could become more common as automakers around the world begin using the same parts by the same manufacturers to save money.

To find out if your car is affected by the recall, check out the NHTSA’s special website for the recall.

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