Takata's faulty airbag inflators continue to remain an issue in the auto world, with Mazda announcing Friday that it will recall 374,519 vehicles in the U.S. connected to the defective front passenger-side airbags.
The safety hazard that this issue presents is that the airbags can inflate with too much force, which could lead to them exploding and sending metal fragments flying into the vehicle, according to the Associated Press.
Mazda first started recalling vehicles linked to the defective airbags in 2013, but it has expanded those recalls after it received new information from the Japanese airbag manufacturer last month.
The new recall includes Mazda6 models made from 2003 to 2008, Mazda Speed6 models from 2006 and 2007, and RX8 models from 2004, Reuters reported.
The Takata airbag recalls have been linked to nine deaths and more than 100 injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last month that a quarter of the vehicles recalled have been fixed, including a third of vehicles in high-humidity areas, where automakers believe there is a higher risk of ruptures.
The recall has so far involved 23 million airbag inflators in 9 million cars made by 12 different car companies, Reuters noted. Among these automakers is Honda, which confirmed the ninth death related to the issue last week.
Takata is facing different kinds of economic blows because of the airbag recalls, which include paying a $70 million fine for safety violations and Toyota and Nissan ditching the company as their airbag supplier. It may also have to deal with deferred penalties of up to $130 million under a NHTSA settlement.
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