General Motor (GM) has asked US safety regulators to postpone the recall of its trucks fitted with faulty Takata airbag inflators. The automaker is requesting the delay to have the opportunity to prove that vehicles are safe. GM is facing the potential recall of 980,000 trucks starting December 31.
In a petition filed with the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the company has asked for a one-year delay. Reuters reported that GM claims the delay will allow the company "to complete a long-term aging study and fully analyze the service life of these inflators." GM estimates that the total cost of the recall would be about $870 million.
GM claims that its inflators do not pose any safety risk due to their unique design. The company has also stated that no case of an airbag rupturing has been reported from 44,000 deployments of these inflators in SUVs and large GM pickups. Regulators, on the other hand, insist that all front Takata airbag inflators without a drying agent need to be recalled.
GM initially challenged the finding, stating that it does not believe there is a defect in any of the identified vehicles. However, after prolonged discussions, GM agreed to an initial recall. The company's spokesman Tom Wilkinson said that GM is still carrying out the talks with the agency.
According to Bloomberg, GM in an email, stated that it is a taking an engineering-based approach to understanding the issue. The company also said that it would continue sharing information with the NHTSA on a regular basis.