GM Attempts to Avoid Takata Recall for Fourth Consecutive Year

For the fourth consecutive year, General Motors is trying its best to avoid having to do a recall for thousands of its SUVs and full-size pickups equipped with Takata air bag inflators despite potential risks.

The leading American carmaker filed a petition at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to exempt the brand from recalls required under a 2015 agreement between the government and the Takata brand.

This move leaves consumers wondering if the GM models carrying the Takata parts are actually safe to drive.

There have been reports that Takata inflators can explode when too much force is applied, destroying a metal canister and releasing shrapnel.

The Japanese brand used chemical ammonium nitrate to produce contained explosion for inflating air bags. But high humidity and hot temperatures can cause the chemical to deteriorate and burn too fast, causing explosions.

A total of 24 people have already been killed and hundreds injured by the inflators across the globe.
Given these numbers, the stakes are high for GM.

Should the NHTSA require the company to do all the recalls tied with the Takata inflators, it will have to work on repairs for more than 6 million trucks and SUVs. The total costs amount to $1.2 billion, which is more than half the profit reported by the company in its most recent quarter.

According to GM’s petition, the inflators, which are unique to the brand, are safe, and that no explosions were reported with the nearly 67,000 air bags it has deployed in the field.

Takata, however, declared that GM’s front passenger inflators are defective under a 2015 agreement with the government. And GM’s persistence to avoid the recalls puts the spotlight on whether the inflators are safe and what is taking the NHTSA so long to rule on the automaker’s petitions.

A spokeswoman for NHTSA did not directly answer questions as to why the agency has not decided on GM’s petitions. They, however, said that the agency would comment on the matter after it has consolidated all four petitions from the carmaker.