DETROIT — Two U.S. senators are calling on regulators to issue a nationwide recall of cars with faulty air bags made by Takata Corp., questioning why automakers have been allowed to limit recalls to only certain locations with high humidity.
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Edward Markey of Massachusetts made the demand in a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who oversees the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Air bag inflators made by Takata can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out in a crash. Safety advocates say the problem has caused four deaths and multiple injuries. So far, automakers have recalled about 12 million vehicles worldwide due to the problem.
But in the U.S., many automakers have limited their recalls to certain high-humidity areas. Takata has recommended that automakers conduct recalls only in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — areas with high “absolute” humidity.
No firm cause of the problem has been identified. Takata and the NHTSA are investigating the impact of prolonged absolute humidity, which is a measure of the moisture content in the air, on chemicals that propel the air bags in a crash. They’re looking into whether moisture in the air can cause the chemicals to explode with too much force, causing metal parts to fracture.
In their letter, the senators ask Foxx to encourage automakers to provide drivers with free loaner cars if parts aren’t available. The letter also notes that people drive their cars from the Northeast to spend weeks or months in higher-humidity southern states.
