Exploding airbags: GM has to recall millions of cars

18 people have already died and hundreds more have been injured by exploding airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata. The US automaker General Motors claims that the defect has no effect on the safety of its vehicles, but has now had to recall almost six million cars.

The US automaker General Motors (GM) has to recall almost six million vehicles in the US because of problems with airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata. The measure affects 5.9 million pickups and SUVs, as the US traffic safety authority NHTSA announced. Accordingly, the airbags could explode in high heat and humidity. The authority rejected the automaker's objections to a recall. GM has not provided evidence that the airbag defect has no impact on the safety of the vehicles.

General Motors disagreed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's assessment, but stated that it would obey the order. The "necessary steps" for a recall would be initiated, said the Detroit-based automaker, which owns brands such as Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac. Accordingly, 5.9 million vehicles are to be recalled in the USA and one million more abroad. Replacing the airbag inflators on this scale would cost the company $ 1.2 billion.

63 million airbags have already been recalled

According to the NHTSA, vehicles from around a dozen model series built between 2007 and 2014, including Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and GMC Yukon, are affected. The authority argues that the risk of metal parts flying around due to the airbags in these vehicles is just as high as in the cars that have already been ordered into the workshops.

Because of defective Takata airbags, car companies worldwide had to recall millions of vehicles. German manufacturers such as BMW and Daimler were also affected. The scandal surrounding the misfiring of Takata airbags became known in 2014. Because of the cost of the recalls, Takata slipped into bankruptcy in 2017.

In the USA, according to the NHTSA, 18 people died as a result of exploding Takata airbags, and 250 other cases were injured. Around 63 million airbags were recalled.