http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/business/regulators-call-for-takata-airbag-recall-to-be-extended-nationwide.html 2014-11-19 00:11:44 Regulators Call for Takata Airbag Recall to Be Extended Nationwide Facing growing criticism, a federal agency moved to widen a safety move that has been limited to a few areas associated with high humidity. === Federal auto safety regulators on Tuesday called on automakers to conduct a nationwide recall of vehicles that contain driver’s side airbags made by the Japanese supplier Takata. The nationwide move urged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would expand a recall that has been limited to two states and two territories associated with high humidity. If automakers do not agree to expand the recall, the agency said, it will “use the full extent of its statutory powers” to compel automakers to do so. The agency said it had yet to put together a detailed list of the models or model years affected. But the expansions affect “millions of” Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Mazda and BMW cars, David Friedman, deputy administrator of the agency, said on a conference call with reporters. The agency said a recent airbag failure outside the regional recall area had prompted it to take the action. The airbags contain a propellant that can cause them to explode when they deploy, spraying shrapnel from the casing into the car’s cabin and injuring the driver or passenger. It is more likely to happen if the propellant becomes moist. The traffic safety agency has fallen under mounting criticism since June, when it allowed nine automakers to limit their recall of cars with the defective Takata airbags to about 900,000 vehicles in areas with high humidity: Florida, Hawaii, the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. One automaker, Honda, has since expanded its recall to more states. Lawmakers have said that other states have high humidity, and that the recall fails to account for cars being taken from state to state. On Thursday, Mr. Friedman is expected to testify at a hearing before the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, which will examine Takata’s defective airbags. Representatives of Takata, Honda and Chrysler are also set to appear. More than 14 million vehicles from 11 automakers have been recalled worldwide since 2008 over concerns about the Takata-made airbags. At least five deaths have been linked to the flaws.