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安全气囊存有隐患 本田再召回450万辆车
Honda recalls another 4.5m vehicles for Takata airbag faults（423words）
By Kana Inagaki
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Honda is expanding its recall to include newer vehicles fitted with potentially faulty airbags made by Takata, bringing the total for Japan’s third-largest carmaker to some 24.5m vehicles.
The company said on Thursday that it would recall an additional 4.5m vehicles manufactured between 2007 and 2011, of which 1.63m are in Japan, to replace driver-side air bag inflators.
Vehicles in the US and Canada are not included in the latest measure. So far, recalls have affected vehicles manufactured in years before 2006.
Honda, which had the closest ties with Takata, has been hardest hit by one of the worst recall crises in automotive history, affecting more than 10 carmakers worldwide.
It decided to expand its recall as a preventive measure after it discovered density problems with propellant pellets inside inflators, which could lead to improper deployment of the airbags.
Takata, regulators and automakers have been unable to pin down the cause of incidents in which some Takata airbags have exploded when deploying, scattering shrapnel inside the car. But the material used inside some inflators is thought to degrade under persistently high heat and humidity, raising the risk of ruptures.
The problems have killed at least eight people and injured more than 100 people worldwide.
A day earlier, Nissan disclosed that an X-Trail sport utility vehicle installed with a Takata airbag exploded in June on a Japanese highway, causing a fire.
The inflator on the passenger side, which was empty at the time, exploded and the driver’s left cheek was lightly burnt. It was unclear whether the injury was linked to the explosion or the car crash.
The vehicle had been recalled in April 2013 and the carmaker had sent five reminders to the driver to replace the airbag. Nissan said it would step up measures to ensure drivers bring in vehicles that are included in its recall campaigns.
Last month, Shigehisa Takada, the reclusive chief executive of Takata, issued his first personal apology for the faulty airbags but defended the company’s handling of the safety crisis that dates to the mid-2000s. Mr Takada also declined to answer questions on where the responsibility lies for the cost of recalls.
Takahiro Hachigo, Honda’s new chief executive, recently said the carmaker had no plans to provide financial support to help Takata cope with the recall costs.
The expanding recalls have led to substantial costs that contributed to Honda’s reporting a 14 per cent year-on-year decline in annual net profit. Takata also booked a net loss of Y29.6bn ($243m) for the fiscal year that ended in March.
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