Toyota Motor Corp., which is among several automakers recalling vehicles with faulty air bags made by Takata Corp., said other carmakers are embracing its call for an independent evaluation of inflators in the safety systems.
Toyota suggested this week that the companies affected by the recall should hire an independent engineering firm to test the air bag inflators subject to the recall of at least 8 million vehicles.
"It sounds like we're all in on the idea of hiring our own independent testing firm," Bob Carter, senior vice president at Toyota's U.S. operations, said Thursday in Detroit.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that air bag inflators may malfunction if exposed to consistently high humidity, causing the devices to deploy with too much force, breaking apart metal pieces and striking passengers. The faulty air bags are linked to at least four deaths in Honda vehicles in the U.S. and another in Malaysia.
Honda Motor Co., Takata's biggest customer, and at least nine other automakers, including Toyota and BMW, are affected by the recalls.