Japanese auto parts maker Takata has identified that the defective airbags it produced were made from 2008 to 2014, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a report Saturday.
Takata has been involved in around 17 million vehicle recalls due to the defective air bags. The report detailed the defects and manufacture dates of the air bags from the company's plant based in Monclova, Mexico, according to Reuters.
Just recently, Toyota released an advisory to more than 875,000 U.S. drivers not to let anyone sit in the passenger front seats of certain models due to reports of flying metal shrapnel upon deployment. The NHTSA also asked for a recall of certain Honda, Nissan, BMW, Buick, and Chevrolet vehicles in southern Florida and the Gulf Coast, where humidity is high.
Since then, the U.S. agency started investigating Takata and asked the Japanese company to produce replacemento air bags. The company committed to open new manufacturing lines to comply with the request as early as next year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We will evaluate if their quality argument is valid. We are also reaching out to other suppliers and manufacturers to discuss the potential and risks of having those suppliers provide replacement air bags," Takata wrote to the agency.
The company is currently testing the returned air bags to identify how the quality can be improved. Takata will have weekly meetings with U.S. officials to update them of the progress of its internal investigation.
"We made it clear to Takata officials that our top priority is the safety of the American people and that Takata's full cooperation was necessary and expected," the NHTSA said in a statement.
Takata is only speaking with the NHTSA at the moment. The Japanese company decided not to reach out to the car makers until the investigation is completed and replacement procedures are finalized.