Takata Corp.'s resistance to a U.S. order to expand the recall of its air bag inflators is likely driven by a need to protect itself from legal liability, but it risks longer-term business damage by alienating the public, experts say.
Takata this week rejected a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demand to declare its inflators defective and call in vehicles nationwide for replacement. The existing recall is limited to hot and humid states.
In a letter, Takata queried NHTSA's justification for the order while a cause for why its inflators can erupt with excessive force is still unclear. The Tokyo-based firm left it up to automakers to decide whether to expand the recall.