Takata makes changes to airbag chemicals.

In continuing coverage of the exploding Takata airbags, Reuters (11/13, Shiraki, Lienert, Klayman) reports that the company has said that it has altered the chemicals used in its airbags, though it still refuses to admit that there was a problem with the original chemicals. The officials who spoke to Reuters says that there have yet to be any reported issues with the new chemicals.

        The Wall Street Journal (11/13, Kubota, Subscription Publication, 5.62M) also reports on the formula change.

        Bloomberg News (11/13, Trudell, 1.94M) reports that Takata released a statement regarding the New York Times story in which former Takata employees allege that the company conducted secret tests on the airbags. Takata said, “The Times article confuses multiple events occurring at different times and for different purposes and thereby tells a story that is simply untrue.”

        The New York (NY) Times (11/13, Tabuchi, Subscription Publication, 9.9M) reports that the former Takata employee told the Times that Takata had confused the events, saying “We tested inflaters in 2004 from junk cars, scrapyards, for rapidly disassembling inflaters, not a cushion-tearing problem.” The employee continued, “There were two bags where the inflater showed signs of fracture.”

        Reuters (11/13) reports that Honda has issued a recall over the airbags for 170,000 more vehicles, but none of the new recalls involve cars sold in the US.

        Several outlets reported on previous news that Chrysler would begin replacing the recalled Takata airbags in December, including Edmunds (11/13, 314K), High Gear Media (11/12), and Leftlane News (11/13, 8K).