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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda said Wednesday a Takata air bag ruptured in a crash in Malaysia which killed the driver, in the fifth such case in the country.
Honda Motor Co. said the "single stage driver's air bag inflator" ruptured in the crash in Malaysia's southern Johor state on Saturday but no official cause of death has been determined.
Tokyo-based Takata Corp. is facing massive recalls worldwide over faulty air bag inflators and propellant devices that may deploy improperly in an accident, shooting out metal fragments that can injure or kill. The inflators are responsible for at least a dozen deaths worldwide and more than 100 injuries.
Honda said the Malaysian owner of the 2009 Honda City was issued a recall notice in July 2015 for replacement of the driver's air bag but the repair was never completed. It said the car was also part of a recall this June for the front passenger's air bag. The passenger's air bag functioned properly in the crash, it said.
In November last year, a pregnant woman was killed in Malaysia after a collision activated the air bag in her Honda. Honda also confirmed three other deaths in Malaysia linked to air bag issues in April, May and June this year.
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