Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has dumped Takata for TRW to replace driver side airbag inflators, a US media report said.
The automaker was to tell a Senate panel on Tuesday it was moving the replacement of 4.1m driver side inflators from Takata to TRW Automotive, the Detroit News reported.
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The move is believed to be the most significant shift of business to a rival supplier by 11 automakers who are recalling an estimated 33.8m vehicles with potentially defective airbags. The bags, now linked to eight deaths and more than 100 injuries, can explode and throw shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
“Despite the lack of a root cause determination to date, FCA’s mission to identify and implement solutions that will improve the safety of our customers has not been delayed,” FCA US senior vice president and head of vehicle safety and regulatory compliance Scott Kunselman, said in written testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee.
The Detroit News obtained copies of the written testimony from the executives ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
His testimony said Fiat Chrysler was “replacing all driver-side inflators involved in the recall with an alternate and permanent design provided by TRW”.
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By GlobalDataThe change was effective on 8 June. Kunselman was to tell the panel that “customers who receive the TRW inflator replacement will require no further action on their vehicles. Takata inflators that are no longer needed due to the supply from TRW are being quarantined and returned from our dealers to Takata”.
Takata spokesman Jared Levy declined to comment and a TRW spokesman didn’t return a comment request from the Detroit News.
Fiat Chrysler said in late May it was recalling 4.07m vehicles in the United States with Takata driver side airbags.
Fiat Chrysler will also replace 50,000 inflators for owners who previously received a Takata inflator and now will be notified to return vehicles for the TRW update. Fiat Chrysler is recalling 4.8m Takata inflators in 4.5m vehicles in the US and 5.2m worldwide, the report said.
However, the Detroit News said Fiat Chrysler was also working with Takata to develop improved versions of the passenger inflators. They will contain an improved igniter material and a desiccant to protect the propellant from moisture.
Fiat Chrysler expects to complete testing on the new versions in August and to begin installation in November.
Honda Motor is also sourcing some replacement parts from TRW, the Detroit paper said. Honda also has a new policy to ensure dealers check for uncompleted recalls. It is also working to buy up older Takata inflators at junkyards to prevent their use as replacement parts.
“We have already identified many thousands of inflators from salvage yards that now never will be installed in another vehicle,” Rich Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America, said in his written testimony.
Schostek was to note that Honda “proactively began searching for alternative supply solutions to more quickly facilitate repairs of our older model vehicles. This effort led to agreements with Daicel, Autoliv and TRW Automotive to provide us with replacement parts in addition to Takata”, the Detroit News reported.
Honda said it was averaging more than 50,000 repairs per week but was not disclosing how many parts it was getting from other airbag inflator suppliers.
