Takata Finally Admits Airbag Defect, Issues 34 Million Car Recall

“Up until now Takata has refused to acknowledge that their airbags are defective. That changes today,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx after an announcement by the auto parts supplier officially recalling 34 million vehicles in the U.S. After racking up over a million dollars in fines for lack of cooperation with U.S. government investigations and defying NHTSA threats to force a recall, the announcement is seen as a huge shift in the airbag maker’s previously defiant attitude toward the safety crisis in which exploding airbags have been linked to at least 6 deaths and over 100 injuries. Individual automakers have already issued recalls for their own vehicles, yet this is the first time an industry-wide recall has been announced.