Airbag Recall Centered on Humid Areas of U.S.

Faulty airbags – which have already led to the recall of millions of cars worldwide – are blamed for a new round of recalls in the U.S.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government’s auto safety agency, said Monday that BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota will recall cars sold in places where hot, humid weather can potentially affect the airbags.

The older model cars have air bag inflators that can rupture. If that happens, the airbags might not work properly in a crash, and shards from the broken system could fly out and cause injury.

The automakers all have air bag systems made by Takata Corp., a Tokyo-based supplier of seatbelts, airbags, steering wheels and other auto parts.

NHTSA opened an investigation this month after getting six reports of airbags rupturing in Florida and Puerto Rico. Three people were injured in those cases. It had estimated 1.1 million vehicles automakers in the U.S. could be affected, but the total is likely to climb.

Honda, for example, said it will include 10 states and territories in its recall, including Texas, Georgia and South Carolina. Honda says Takata recommended recalling cars in four places: Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The government says it wanted to act quickly in warm states while it continues to investigate the issue.

“Based on the limited data available at this time, NHTSA supports efforts by automakers to address the immediate risk in areas that have consistently hot, humid conditions over extended periods of time,” the agency said in a statement.

Honda says too much pressure may be building up in the system, causing the airbags to deploy with too much force.

In one complaint last August, a Honda driver’s lawyer told NHTSA that the car was in a crash, and both driver and passenger air bags inflated. The driver’s airbag inflator ruptured “and propelled a one-inch piece of shrapnel into the driver’s right eye.” The driver lost sight and suffered cuts requiring 100 stitches to close, the complaint said.

Takata’s airbags have been the subject of multiple recalls in recent months.

In April 2013, Toyota, Honda and Nissan recalled nearly 3.4 million older model vehicles worldwide due to a problem with the propellant in the airbags that could lead to fires.

But Takata recently realized that recall didn’t include all of the potentially faulty airbags. Earlier this month, Toyota recalled 2.27 million more cars globally. And on Monday in Japan, Honda, Mazda and Nissan together recalled nearly 3 million more.