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Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining

Toyota recalls 250 vehicles in two separate campaigns

Toyota is keeping on top of things by issuing two, small recalls on 2015 model year vehicles. The first covers 230 examples of the 2015 Yaris. In the affected models, the bolts holding the rear axle bearing might not be tight enough. If one of these fasteners falls off, it could possibly damage the rear brakes, including the potential of a wheel locking up. The second, even smaller campaign covers just 20 units of the 2015 Tacoma TRD Pro pickups. In the examples delivered to Puerto Rico, they didn't have the correct placard to advise owners of the correct tire size and pressure on the B-pillar. Neither problem has resulted in any crashes, injuries or fatalities. As usual, affected owners will be notified by mail, and Toyota dealers will repair the issues free of charge to customers. Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight tells Autoblog that those letters will go out in mid-March. TOYOTA RECALLS CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2015 YARIS AND TACOMA VEHICLES TORRANCE, Calif., February 17, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will conduct a safety recall of approximately 230 Model Year 2015 Yaris hatchbacks and approximately 20 Model Year 2015 Tacoma TRD Pro model pickup trucks. In the involved Yaris vehicles, the rear axle bearing bolts may not have been tightened sufficiently during vehicle assembly. If a bolt is loose and falls off during vehicle operation, the bolt could damage rear brake components, resulting in reduced brake performance or potential wheel lock up, which could increase the risk of a crash. The Tacoma TRD Pro model pickup trucks were distributed to dealers in Puerto Rico without the correct B-pillar tire placard indicating the tire size and recommended cold tire inflation pressure for the front and rear tires. An improperly inflated tire can increase the risk of a crash. Toyota is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or fatalities caused by either condition. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the vehicles at no cost to the owner. Detailed information is available at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331. ### Featured Gallery 2015 Toyota Yaris View 12 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Toyota TRD Pro Series Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner News Source: Toyota Recalls Toyota Safety Truck Hatchback