U.S. auto safety regulators are examining whether an additional 70 million to 90 million Takata Corp. air bag inflators should be recalled because they may endanger drivers, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
That would nearly quadruple the 29 million inflators recalled so far and linked to nine deaths in the United States.
In all, as many as 120 million Takata inflators in U.S. vehicles contain the same volatile chemical — ammonium nitrate — used in inflators that automakers have recalled, according to company documents seen by reporters and verified by two former Takata managers. The total number has not been previously reported.