US rejects Ford Motor plea to delay recall of 3 million vehicles

To delay recalling 3 mn vehicles with potentially defective air bag inflators to conduct additional testing

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was rejecting a petition by Ford Motor to delay recalling about 3 million vehicles with potentially defective air bag inflators to conduct additional testing.

The agency said it did not find the request by the second largest US automaker “reasonable under the circumstances or supported by the testing and data it has collected to date”. Takata inflators can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. At least 18 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide have been tied to the defect that led Takata Corp to file for bankruptcy protection