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US tells GM to recall nearly 6M trucks with Takata inflators

GM had petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, contending the inflators are safe.

Credit: AP

FILE - This May 16, 2014, file photo, shows the General Motors logo at the company's world headquarters in Detroit. General Motors is suing Fiat Chrysler, alleging that its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges that FCA was involved in racketeering by paying millions in bribes to get concessions and gain advantages in three labor agreements with the union. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

DETROIT — The U.S. is making General Motors recall and repair nearly 6 million big pickup trucks and SUVs equipped with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators.

The move announced Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion.

GM 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.

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