Fiat Chrysler to halt use of dangerous air bag inflators

DETROIT -- By next week, Fiat Chrysler plans to stop producing new vehicles in North America with the most dangerous type of Takata air bag inflators.

The company says its factories will stop using inflators that don't have a chemical drying agent. Inflators with a drying agent have been shown in tests to be much safer.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers. At least 11 people have died worldwide due to the problem. Automakers are recalling up to 69 million inflators in the U.S. without the drying agent. Inflators with the drying agent also could be recalled in a few years if Takata can't prove they are safe.

FCA expects to stop using inflators without the drying chemical in global production by mid-September.