Automakers boost Takata airbag recall completion rates

WASHINGTON -- Out of 37 million vehicles with 50 million inflators under recall, 16.7 million airbag inflators remain to be replaced. Average repair rates rose by 30 percent, deputy National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Heidi King said.
At least 23 deaths worldwide have been linked to the rupturing of faulty Takata airbag inflators, including 15 in the United States. The issue has sparked the largest auto industry safety recall in history, involving about 100 million inflators among 19 major automakers.
The issue will not end any time soon as automakers will add close to 10 million additional inflators to the record-setting recalls in January, according to the report from monitor John Buretta.
More than 290 injuries worldwide have been linked to Takata inflators that can explode, spraying metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. ........

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