NHTSA investigates 30 million vehicles over air bag inflators

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has started a new investigation into 30 million vehicles built by almost two dozen automakers with potentially defective Takata air bag inflators, a government document showed.

The estimated 30 million U.S. vehicles are from 2001 through 2019 model years. Automakers were notified to the investigation, which is not yet public.

The new investigation includes vehicles assembled by Honda, Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla, Ferrari NV , Mazda, Daimler, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Chrysler, Porsche, and others.

The 30 million vehicles include both automobiles that had the inflators installed when they were produced and also some inflators that were used in prior recall repairs, NHTSA said.

Takata is presently responsible for the largest auto recall in history. The recalls cover about 100 million inflators among 19 major automakers worldwide, including about 67 million inflators in the United States.

There have been at least 28 deaths worldwide tied to faulty Takata inflators, of which 19 took place in the United States.

The 30 million vehicles that are part of the latest investigation have inflators with a “desiccant” or drying agent. NHTSA said there have been no reported ruptures of automobiles on the roads with air bag inflators with the drying agent.