General Motors must recall 5.9 million vehicles over airbags, says NHTSA

General Motors must recall 5.9 million vehicles with Takata airbag inflators following a statement released by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S. safety agency, on Monday.

The agency rejected the automaker’s petition to avoid the callback.

The NHTSA said the automaker must recall the 2007-2014 trucks and SUVs as the inflators “are at risk of the same type of explosion after long-term exposure to high heat and humidity as other recalled Takata inflators”.

General Motors has it could cost it $1.2 billion if it were required to replace airbag inflators it had sought to prevent repairs.