The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently told Takata Corp. to expand its regional defective-airbag recall (in states that have high "absolute" humidity) to vehicles in the entire country. Takata just said no. Most recalls are voluntary — that is, the manufacturer agrees to do what the agency demands. Here, however, NHTSA will have to go after Takata legally if it wants a national recall.
For more details, read this AP story. Here's an excerpt:
Japan's Takata Corp. rejected federal regulators' demand Wednesday for an expanded, nationwide recall of millions of air bags, setting up a possible legal showdown and leaving some drivers to wonder about the safety of their cars. Amid the standoff, Honda Motor Co. decided to act on its own and recall cars with the potentially defective equipment in all 50 states. But other automakers have yet to make a decision. At issue are air bags whose inflators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into the passenger compartment. At least five deaths and dozens of injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide.
