DETROIT (AP) – General Motors will recall about 7 million big pickup trucks and SUVs worldwide to replace potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators.
The move came Monday after the U.S. government told the automaker it had to recall 6 million of the vehicles in the U.S.
The recall will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion. GM says it will not fight the recall.
The company had petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, contending the inflators are safe.
Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to fill air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel.
Twenty-seven people have been killed worldwide by the exploding inflators.
