Feb 06, 2015 Takata, Safety, Recall, Airbags
Bloomberg reports in its online edition that: "A former Takata Corp. engineer has told a U.S. congressional committee he’s willing to testify that he warned of deadly consequences before the company chose a design for air bags that were later recalled due to lethal flaws. Mark Lillie, who left the Japanese auto-parts maker in 1999, said his departure was tied to Takata’s disregard of his warnings against using the chemical compound ammonium nitrate to inflate its air bags. More than 20 million cars with Takata inflators have since been recalled worldwide because the devices can deploy with too much force, causing them to rupture and shoot metal fragments at motorists."
The article continues : "“I knew that ultimately there were going to be catastrophic failures,” Lillie said in a phone interview. “I didn’t want my name associated with it.” Takata has formed an independent review panel to investigate manufacturing weaknesses that thrust the company into the center of a global recall crisis, while defending its decision to use ammonium nitrate propellant. Its air bags have been linked to six deaths in Honda Motor Co. cars. "
"Takata, in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News, didn’t directly address Lillie’s account of discussions within the company about ammonium nitrate or the circumstances of his departure. "
Read the full story here
Aug 05, 2026 0
Aug 04, 2026 0
Aug 03, 2026 0