30 million more vehicles being investigated in big Takata airbag recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into another 30 million vehicles for possible defective Takata airbags.

The concern is, the inflators can explode and, in rare instances, send deadly metal fragments flying, with deadly consequences.

The worldwide Takata recalls taken together were already the largest safety recall in automotive history, involving more than 67 million Takata airbag inflators recalled in the United States and more than 100 million worldwide. Millions of those vehicles are still driving around with potentially dangerous airbags.

The defective inflators have killed at least 28 people worldwide, including 19 in the United States, and have caused more than 400 injuries. In the U.S., 16 of those deaths were in Honda vehicles, two in Fords and one in a BMW. Overseas, 9 other Honda deaths occurred in Malaysia, Brazil and Mexico.

NHTSA on Tuesday said the additional 30 million vehicles were manufactured by two dozen automakers between 2001 and 2019 — and comprise 1,384 different vehicle models in all.