Defective Takata Airbags Claim 840,000 Daimler Vehicles In U.S.

The newest manufacturer to join the massive Takata airbag recall is Daimler AG, which was informed on the situation by the NHTSA.

There are approximately 840,000 affected vehicles in the United States alone, including roughly 705,000 Mercedes-Benz cars and about 136,000 Daimler vans, equipped with the defective Takata airbag inflators, which may explode and send shrapnel at occupants.

To rectify the problem, dealers will inspect the models and replace the front airbag inflators if necessary, free of charge. However, Daimler didn’t provide an exact notification schedule yet or announced what vehicles may suffer from this condition.

It is estimated that the expense of this precautionary recall stands at about €340 million ($381 million equivalent) and will be recognized as a provision in financial year 2015, decreasing net profit to €8.7 billion ($9.8 billion). Dividend proposal, employees’ profit participation and earnings expected for 2016 financial year will remain unchanged.

Other models involved in the Takata airbag recall are from companies such as Ford, Mazda, Honda and Volkswagen, with millions of total affected examples.

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