Takata air bag recalls since 2008

(Reuters) - Below are some key events in Takata Corp's (7312.T) ongoing recalls over defective air bags, which now exceed 53 million vehicles worldwide since 2008. Included in the global figure are nearly 34 million vehicles in the United States, making it the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. The faulty air bag inflators have been linked to six deaths.

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2008:

Nov. 4 – Honda Motor Co Ltd recalls 4,000 Accords and Civics (2001 models) globally as Takata air bag inflators may produce excessive internal pressure causing them to rupture and spray metal fragments in the car.

2009:

May 27 - Oklahoma teen Ashley Parham dies when the air bag in her 2001 Honda Accord explodes, shooting metal fragments into her neck. Honda and Takata deny fault and settle for an undisclosed sum.

Dec. 24 - Gurjit Rathore is killed in Virginia when the air bag in a 2001 Accord explodes after a minor accident, severing arteries in her neck, court documents show. Her family sues Honda and Takata for more than $75 million (£48 million in April 2011, claiming they knew of the air bag problems as early as 2004. Honda and Takata settle in January 2013 for $3 million, according to court documents.

2010:

Feb. 9 - Honda expands earlier recalls.

2011:

April 27 - Honda recalls 896,000 Honda and Acura 2001-03 cars in order to find defective Takata air bag inflators installed as replacement parts.

Dec. 1 - Honda again expands recalls.

2013:

April 11 - Toyota Motor , Honda, Nissan Motor and Mazda Motor recall 3.4 million vehicles globally due to possibly defective Takata air bags.

April 18 - Takata says to book extraordinary loss of $307 million for year to March 2013 for recall-related costs.

May 7 - BMW (BMWG.DE) joins recalls.

May 10 - Takata posts record $212.5 million annual net loss, and names Swiss national Stefan Stocker as president, the first foreigner in the post.

Sept. 3 - Devin Xu dies in a 2002 Acura TL sedan in a parking lot accident near Los Angeles from "apparent facial trauma due to foreign object inside air bag" - coroner's report.

2014:

June 11 - Toyota expands prior recall to 2.27 million vehicles globally; U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opens probe, examining whether driving in high humidity regions contributes to the risk of Takata air bag explosions; Takata says there is nothing to indicate any inflator safety defects.

June 23 - Honda, Nissan and Mazda recall 2.95 million vehicles, expanding April 2013 recall, bringing the total recall to about 10.5 million vehicles over five years.

June 26 - Takata CEO apologies to shareholders at AGM.

July 18 - Takata says to book special loss of about 45 billion yen ($440 million) in April-June for recalls.

Oct. 2 - Orlando woman Hien Thi Tran dies four days after her 2001 Accord is in an accident in which the air bag explodes, shooting out shrapnel - police report.

Oct. 22 - NHTSA expands total number of U.S. vehicles recalled for Takata air bags to 7.8 million over past 18 months.

Oct. 27 - A first case seeking class status is filed in Florida, claiming Takata and automakers, including Honda and Toyota, concealed crucial information on air bags.

Nov. 6 - Takata warns of bigger full-year loss, and pays no interim dividend for first time since 2006.

Nov. 7 - The New York Times reports Takata ordered technicians to destroy results of tests on some air bags after finding cracks in inflators. Democratic lawmakers call for criminal probe into Takata.

Nov. 13 - Honda says a woman - later identified as Law Suk Leh, 43 - died in Malaysia in July after being hit by shrapnel from a Takata air bag in her Honda City - the first such fatality outside the U.S.; Takata says it has modified the composition of its air bag propellant; Honda widens recalls; taking its total alone to nearly 10 million.

Dec. 4 - At U.S. Senate hearing, Takata says unable yet to find "root cause" of air bag ruptures.

Dec. 17 - Mark Rosekind confirmed as new head of NHTSA.

Dec. 24 - Stocker steps down as Takata president.

2015:

Jan. 29 - Honda says 35-year-old Carlos Solis was killed in Houston in a 2002 Accord fitted with a Takata air bag that may have ruptured.

Feb. 20 - U.S. regulators impose daily fine of $14,000 on Takata for failing to fully cooperate with air bag probe.

April 28 - Honda gives disappointing profit forecast, citing high costs related to quality fixes.

May 8 - Takata says expects to return to profit in 2015-16.

May 13 - Toyota says to recall 5 million cars globally, including Corolla and Vitz models from 2003-07; Nissan to recall 1.56 million cars, taking overall global recalls to more than 31 million in eight years.

May 19 - Takata doubles U.S. recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.

May 28 - Honda, BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announce additional models covered by the expanded recall of May 19. FCA expands recall to 5.22 million vehicles worldwide. U.S. House subcommittee sets June 2 hearing on safety issue.

(Compiled by Ben Klayman, Ian Geoghegan and Matthew Lewis)