Takata death in Malaysia

A woman has died in Malaysia, after the driver-side airbag ruptured in a crash. It’s the third death in the country linked to Takata’s faulty airbags – with a global total of 15 Takata-related deaths. The 44-year-old woman was in the driver’s seat of a Honda City, and was found with injuries to her chest from an item protruding from the centre of the steering wheel. Honda says it confirmed with police that the Takata airbag had ruptured in the crash, but says the official cause of death has yet to be determined. The model, a 2005 Honda City, had been involved in a recall issued in May last year. Three mailed recall notices were sent to the car’s owner alerting that the recall required the replacement of airbag inflators in the driver and passenger sides. Honda says that records indicated that the repair was never completed. Honda has issued additional recalls in Malaysia, which included City, Accord and Civic models. Two fatal crashes in May were linked to Takata-supplied driver-side inflators, which ruptured in Honda cars in Malaysia. Local authorities were still investigating the cause of the two deaths.