At least 15 people, including 14 overseas, have died in France due to defective airbags since 2016, explains an investigation by Radio France's investigation unit. Airbags manufactured by the Japanese company Takata, whose cartridge which allows their inflation bursts and projects metal fragments. The cause is the presence, in these cartridges, of ammonium nitrate crystals which transform into a very unstable gas. “The capsule of these airbags is not waterproof. It is subject to humidity and temperature variations. Ammonium nitrate therefore becomes very dangerous,” explains Frédéric Poitou, chemist and legal expert, in the Radio France investigation.
Around thirty manufacturers concerned
As the investigation points out, Honda had changed the airbags of some of these models in 2013, Toyota from 2015, “but not Citroën, which continued to equip some of its C3s, in particular with this rogue supplier”.
Last spring, Stellantis finally launched a “stop drive”, a letter sent to nearly 300,000 French motorists to ask them to stop driving their vehicle due to mortal danger.
France
