Defective airbag inflators made by the Japanese company Takata triggered the largest automotive recall in history.
Takata supplied inflators to numerous automakers, including Honda, Toyota, Ford, BMW, Nissan, Mazda, and General Motors. Many used phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate as the propellant. After prolonged exposure to heat and humidity, the propellant could deteriorate and burn too rapidly, rupturing the inflator housing and firing metal fragments into the passenger compartment.
The recalls expanded dramatically after investigations in the United States and elsewhere. In the U.S., more than 60 million inflators were recalled across tens of millions of vehicles; worldwide, the total reached roughly 100 million inflators. The defect was linked to deaths and hundreds of injuries, making it one of the most serious automotive safety crises ever recorded.
The scandal bankrupted Takata in 2017, and its assets were acquired by Key Safety Systems, later known as Joyson Safety Systems. The recall is sometimes described as the largest U.S. automotive recall or the largest series of automotive recalls, but either wording points to Takata.