Honda reports another Takata airbag rupture in fatal Malaysia crash

KUALA LUMPUR -- Honda Motor Co. said today that the driver-side airbag inflator ruptured during a fatal crash in Malaysia, in the fourth death this year in the Southeast Asian country linked to airbags from supplier Takata Corp.

The incident on Sept. 24 took place in Johor, a state in southern Malaysia, and involved a 2009 Honda City. The car was part of a product recall announced by Honda in June last year, that required the replacement of the Takata driver's front airbag, the company said in a statement.

No details of the victim were provided.

Honda said it had confirmed with Malaysian police during an inspection that the Takata single stage driver's airbag inflator had ruptured in the crash, but said the official cause of death had not been determined. 

The passenger's airbag inflator did not rupture, Honda said.

Takata could not immediately be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

Honda recalled more vehicles in Malaysia earlier this year to replace airbag inflators, as part of a global recall involving potentially deadly airbags from supplier Takata.

Driver-side inflators supplied by Takata ruptured in three other fatal crashes involving Honda cars in Malaysia earlier this year.

Takata's defective airbag inflators have been linked to at least 14 deaths globally so far and more than 100 injuries, and sparked the largest-ever auto recall.

About 100 million Takata air bag inflators have been declared defective worldwide. In the U.S., nearly 70 million inflators have been declared defective.