Honda Motor Co. told lawmakers it will expand their recall of vehicles with Takata driver-side airbags, which have been found to explode and shoot metal shrapnel at drivers and passengers, in spite of the Japanese supplier’s continued resistance to issue it’s own expanded U.S. recall as demanded by government officials.

Honda said it will use replacements from other suppliers if necessary and broaden it’s airbag recall beyond the 11 states it already covers.

Honda did not disclose how many vehicles will be impacted by the latest Honda airbag recall, but more than 7.8 million vehicles in the United States have been recalled since 2013 by 10 automakers to fix problems with Takata airbags.

Automakers involved in the Takata airbag recall include Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac, Saab, Subaru, and Toyota.

As U.S. automakers begin to expand their airbag recalls on their own without Takata’s help, the Japanese company continues to ignore U.S. government requests to do so. Takata officials were scheduled to appear with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before congress earlier last week.

Takata was allegedly made aware of the airbag explosion problem in 2003 when they investigated a ruptured Takata airbag in a BMW vehicle. The problem was considered an anomaly. In 2004, Takata technicians claimed they tested the airbag inflators for defects. This is when Takata airbag explosion possibilities should have become confirmed, U.S. officials say, but the company allegedly did not confirm the faulty airbag problem until 2005.

The discrepancy in timing could lead to additional legal problems for Takata, which is already facing several class action lawsuits and individual wrongful death lawsuits. The litigation is also naming automakers as defendants for allegedly knowing about the exploding airbag problems but failing to issue their own recall before government regulators stepped in.  [See: Takata Airbag Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.]

The Takata airbag recall has left automakers scrambling to produce replacement parts to meet the growing demand for recalled vehicles.

Takata Airbag Class Action Lawsuit

Nearly 8 million vehicles are being recalled in the U.S. alone due to Takata airbag dangers. The airbags have the potential to explode and send metal and plastic pieces flying towards the passengers. So far, the Takata airbag defect has been linked to four deaths and over 30 injuries.

Several Takata airbag class action lawsuits have been filed against Takata Corp. claiming that the company was aware of the defect and failed to give adequate warning or issue an immediate recall of the airbags they had installed.

Takata airbag recalls are affecting millions of cars. Certain models made between 2000 and 2011 from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors have been made with Takata airbags installed and have the potential to cause the driver and passengers harm.

Takata airbag recalls began in 2013, but it is believed that the company was aware of the dangers before then. Takata class action lawsuits claim Takata knew about the faulty airbags as early as 2001, when a Japanese automaker issued a Takata airbag recall.

Honda reported Takata airbag explosions to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2008. They initially issued their own recall in 2004 and did not file an official report until the problem became more severe. This suggests that other automakers should have been aware of the problem and issued recalls sooner than 2013.

Takata Airbag Injuries

The flaw with Takata airbags appears to be a design flaw. The flaw allegedly allows moisture from the environment to seep into the airbag. When the moisture interacts with ammonium nitrate (the chemical used in Takata airbags that makes the airbag inflate during a crash), the airbag may explode and send debris into the car.

Takata airbag explosion injuries may be similar to being shot or stabbed.

Takata airbag class action lawsuits have been filed due to the injuries caused by exploding airbags. Users of the affected vehicles are encouraged to take their car into the dealer to be repaired. A comprehensive list of vehicles with flawed Takata airbags may be found at this link (NHTSA*).