Takata lost yet another customer over the weekend, as Nissan announced it would no longer use ammonium nitrate filled airbags produced by the Japanese parts maker.
Reuters reports that Nissan joined a growing list of carmakers to ditch Takata and its shrapnel-shooting airbags after the parts maker was fined $70 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to report airbag defects.
“We have decided to no longer use (Takata’s) inflators containing ammonium nitrate in airbags for future models,” Nissan said in a statement. “We will continue to put our customers’ safety first and work to replace the inflators in vehicles under recall as quickly as possible.”
Nissan previously announced that it would repeat inspections of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags that had initially been cleared of defects after a passenger was injured during a collision last week, Reuters reports.
Last Wednesday, Honda – which made up about 10% of the part maker’s global sales – said it would discontinue using Takata’s airbag inflators in any new models under development and accused the supplier of manipulating test data.
The carmaker said in a statement that it was “deeply troubled” by evidence that suggested Takata “misrepresented and manipulated test data for certain airbag inflators.”
Following Honda’s move, other automakers, including Fuji and Mitsubishi, announced they were considering dropping the part’s maker.
On Friday, Toyota announced it would also stop using Takata’s ammonium nitrate airbags in its vehicles, noting that it was placing ““top priority on ensuring the safety and confidence of our customers.”
Carmakers’ decision to drop Takata’s products come just a day after the parts maker was fined $70 million by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its failure to properly alert regulators to airbag issues.
The company has agreed to phase out the use of ammonium nitrate in its inflators by 2018 and faces an additional $130 million fine if it doesn’t comply with NHTSA orders or if new violations are found.
Nissan joins automakers dropping Takata air bag inflators [Reuters]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist