[9] Takata was founded in 1933 in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, by Takezo Takada and started to produce lifelines for parachutes, and other textiles.

Their remaining assets were sold to its largest competitor, Chinese owned and Michigan based Key Safety Systems, for about $1.6 billion.

[8] In May 1995, a recall in the U.S. affecting 8,428,402 predominantly Japanese built vehicles made from 1986 to 1991 with seat belts manufactured by the Takata Corporation of Japan, was issued.

Through exposure to ultraviolet light over a period of time, the plastic became brittle and pieces fell off, causing a jamming of the release button mechanism.

In addition, the NHTSA assessed a $50,000 civil penalty against both Honda and Takata for failing to notify the agency about the seat belt defect in a timely manner.

[24] In June 2014, Takata admitted their Mexican subsidiary had mishandled the manufacture of explosive propellants and improperly stored chemicals used in airbags.

Identifying vehicles with defective airbags was made more difficult by the failure of TK Holdings Inc. to keep proper quality control records.

[16] On June 23, 2014, auto manufacturers BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota announced they were recalling over three million vehicles worldwide due to Takata-made airbags.

The woman, aged 42, died when a metal fragment from a ruptured driver's side airbag sliced into her neck in the accident in which she was driving at around 30 km/h (18 mph) when another vehicle hit her at a junction, according to a lawsuit filed by her father at a Miami federal court.

The action came as 10 automakers in the U.S. recalled hundreds of thousands of cars equipped with potentially faulty air bags manufactured by Takata.

[35] On March 1, 2018, it was announced that 106,806 Volkswagen vehicles, including models such as the Golf, Passat, Polo, CC Eos, and Up!, have been recalled for containing defective Takata airbags.

[36] On April 4, 2018, the New Zealand government, having decided "they present the highest safety risk to drivers and passengers,"[37] announced a compulsory recall of 50,000 vehicles fitted with Alpha-type Takata airbags.

[41] On December 17, 2019, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a new warning affecting around 78,000 cars manufactured between 1996 and 2000 of the following makes; Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota.

[42] In June 2021, Joyson announced that they had discovered over a thousand cases where Takata had falsified seat belt safety test data.

[43] In July 2022, Stellantis asked 29,000 owners of 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to stop driving after a person was killed when a Takata air bag inflator exploded.

In November Stellantis urged an additional 276,000 car owners to stop driving their vehicles after three other crash deaths were tied to Takata air bag inflators.

[9] In January 2024, Toyota and General Motors issued a recall of 61,000 of their older Corolla, Matrix, RAV4 and Pontiac Vibe model vehicles sold in the United States that carry the Takata airbag.

[46] As of 2017, car manufacturers affected by this recall include Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler Trucks North America, Daimler Vans USA LLC, Dodge/Ram, Ferrari, Ford, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Scion, Subaru, and Toyota.

[47] In 2014, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota notified the NHTSA that they were conducting limited regional recalls to address a possible safety defect involving Takata air bag inflators.

[48] In May 2014, General Motors expanded their earlier recall of their 2012 Chevrolet Cruze sedan and other models because of an electrical problem with the Takata airbags.

[49] On June 25, 2014, General Motors told their North American dealers to stop selling their 2013 and 2014 model Chevrolet Cruze sedans.

GM stated, "Certain vehicles may be equipped with a suspect driver's air bag inflator module that may have been assembled with an incorrect part."