Watch CBS News

Some Defective Airbags Counted Twice Says NHTSA Reducing Takata Recall Numbers

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - New numbers Tuesday from federal regulators about the extent of the ongoing Takata Corporation air bag recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now says 23 million air bag inflators need to be replaced, down from an original estimate of 34 million.

The agency saying some air bags from multiple recalls were counted twice.

Joe White is transportation editor with Reuters news service based in Detroit.

"This affects ... 11 manufacturers because Takata was a major supplier to some of the biggest names in the auto business. So the complexity of this one is quite a bit greater than a single company recall like the GM ignition-switch matter or Ford Firestone - so there's that layer of complexity that just adds to the confusion here," said White.

Takata Airbag Hearing
Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) (R) holds up a photo of Stephanie Erdman of Destin, Florida, of her face injury by the airbag explosion in her Honda Civic after a traffic accident last year, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (L) looks on during a hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee November 20, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

To date, Takata says over 4 million air bag inflators have already been replaced.

"Still the real thrust of this is that they have millions of vehicles that carmakers still have to fix and that's the problem -- there are basically about 19 million vehicles that have not been repaired," he said.

At least eight people have been killed by Takata air bags, which can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel into a vehicle.

 

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.