DETROIT — A 50-year-old woman who died after a car wreck last month in California is the 11th U.S. victim of Takata Corp.’s defective air bag inflators.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the woman’s death yesterday but didn’t release her name. Up to five people also may have been killed by the air bags in Malaysia, bringing the number of deaths to as many as 16.
The agency said the woman died Sept. 30 in Riverside County, Calif., near Los Angeles. Honda Motor Co. confirmed the woman’s death and said she was driving a 2001 Civic.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver during this difficult time,” the automaker said in a statement.
Takata air bags can inflate with too much force, which causes a metal canister to rupture and spew shrapnel into the vehicle. Tokyo-based Takata, unlike other manufacturers, uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to prolonged high heat and humidity and can burn faster than designed. That can blow apart a metal canister designed to contain the explosion.
The problem touched off what is now the largest auto recall in U.S. history. More than 69 million inflators have been recalled in the U.S. and more than 100 million worldwide. Takata faces billions in costs. In June, NHTSA urged owners of 313,000 older Hondas and Acuras to stop driving them and get them repaired. The agency said it had data showing that chances are as high as 50 percent that the inflators can explode in a crash.
