85M More U.S. Vehicles Could Face Takata Airbag Recall
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DETROIT (CBSDFW.COM/CBS News) - The nation's highway safety watchdog says U.S. cars and trucks have about 85 million Takata air bag inflators in them that haven't been recalled.
Takata's inflators can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers. All of the inflators would have to be recalled if Takata can't prove that they are safe.
The 85 million air bag inflators are in addition to the 28.8 million inflators already slated for replacement in what has become the largest automotive recall in the nation's history. A recall that massive would take years to complete and cost Takata billions of dollars.
A Texas teenager is the 10th person nationwide to die as a result of an faulty Takata airbag. According to reports, 17-year-old Huma Hanif was involved in an accident when the airbag in her car exploded.
"She had a deep laceration on the side of her throat," says Rudy Torres, who saw the accident happen.
Hanif was driving in her hometown of Richmond, just outside of Houston when her 2002 Honda Civic rear ended another car, setting off the airbag.
At least 11 people have died worldwide and more than 100 have been hurt by the exploding inflators.
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