Showdown looms between U.S. and air-bag maker

DETROIT - A showdown is looming between U.S. safety regulators and the Japanese company that makes the air bags linked to multiple deaths and injuries. Car companies and the driving public are caught in the middle.

The air bag inflators can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into the passenger compartment. Takata Corp. insists that current recalls covering eight million U.S. cars in high-humidity areas are sufficient. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants millions more added, citing evidence that the problem can occur outside high-humidity regions.

Takata's initial response is "an unwillingness to move forward," David Friedman, NHTSA deputy administrator, said Tuesday. "Everyone needs to understand that Takata needs to act."

So far, Takata has set aside more than $400 million to cover recall costs in the United States and globally. A broader U.S. recall could cost the company millions more. In a statement issued Wednesday in Japan, Takata said it also was concerned that a national recall would divert parts from high-humidity areas, putting lives at risk.

The impasse could put pressure on automakers such as Honda, Ford, and Mazda - which ultimately are responsible for recalls - to go ahead and then settle cost issues later with Takata, said Allan Kam, a former NHTSA attorney who is now a consultant to consumers and manufacturers. (Takata, he said, is not a client.)

The safety agency acted after weeks of criticism from lawmakers, who said it was too slow to respond to mounting recalls and reports of deaths and injuries. On Wednesday, the Obama administration nominated National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind to run the agency.

Owners of cars outside the recall regions remain in limbo, uncertain if they might experience a potentially dangerous problem with their air bags.

NHTSA said its demand for an additional recall was based on incidents involving a death in California and an injury in North Carolina in which the air bags were implicated. Both states are outside the earlier recall, which generally covers areas with average dew points of 60 degrees or higher along the Gulf Coast, plus Hawaii.

Takata said Wednesday that nearly 1,000 inflators from outside high-humidity areas had been tested, and no canisters had ruptured.

Normally when NHTSA and automakers disagree, they compromise. But if they don't, NHTSA must determine that there is a safety defect and conduct a hearing before issuing a final order for a recall, said Kam.

If a company still refuses, the Justice Department will ask a court to order the recall, Kam said. NHTSA has the power to fine companies for moving too slowly, up to $35 million.