BMW has recalled 486 SUVs in the US after an airbag malfunctioned in October, sending shrapnel into a driver’s lung, chest and shoulder.
The recall is the latest to hit car parts supplier Takata, whose airbags have been under investigation by US regulators for years – and are found in millions of vehicles worldwide.
The part in question is the driver’s side airbag inflator, which is actually made by ARC Automotive but used by Takata in its airbags. This device uses volatile chemicals to create a small explosion that rapidly inflates the airbag in the event of a crash.
However, under certain circumstances, the metal canister containing the chemicals can explode in a crash, sending metal shrapnel into the car’s interior.
Twenty-seven deaths have been linked to faulty Takata airbags in the US and at least 38 worldwide. More than 400 people have been injured by the airbags in the US alone.
The latest recall includes several models of BMW SUVs built between February and March 2014.
Because of how widespread the problem could be, the NHTSA has advised drivers to check its recall database by entering their vehicle identification number (VIN).
Takata has recalled about 67 million of its airbags for safety issues, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
However, many defective units remain in cars on the road.
Takata filed for bankruptcy in 2017, after the recalls and lawsuits cost the company billions.
The problem lies with the chemicals that inflate the airbags.
When crash sensors at the front of your car detect a major impact, they send a signal to an on-board computer that triggers the inflator.
Inside an airbag inflator is a chemical that, when ignited, breaks down into harmless components.
In the early 1990s, this chemical was sodium azide, which quickly decomposes into sodium and nitrogen when detonated.
In the late 1990s, however, Takata switched to ammonium nitrate – the same chemical that makes fertiliser suitable for home-made bombs.
The trouble began in 2004, when reports of dangerous airbag explosions began to surface.
Since then, recalls have been piecemeal, with different car manufacturers recalling small numbers of cars at a time.
The actual number of cars affected is in the tens of millions.
Even without problems, an inflator works like a bomb. If you apply an electrical charge, it will explode.
The problem with defective Takata airbags occurs when heat and humidity cause the ammonium nitrate to decompose prematurely, so that when the airbag is triggered it explodes with far too much force.
When this happens, the inflator canister is ripped apart and the force of the explosion sends pieces of the canister flying into anything they can reach.
In the case of the new BMW recall, the triggering incident occurred in October when a driver was seriously injured by an airbag in a crash.
Shrapnel entered the driver’s lungs, but he survived. BMW has said it has not yet inspected the vehicle, according to the AP.
General Motors faced a similar recall earlier this year, but for nearly one million vehicles. The US carmaker blamed Takata for the problem.
But even when the devices appear to be at fault, automakers have been slow to issue recalls, leading to additional lawsuits.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, paid $12.5 million in fines last year for failing to promptly inform drivers about the airbags.
Officials expect the NHTSA to expand the airbag recall to 52 million units made by Takata in 2024.
