Such a nationwide recall would affect vehicles made by five automakers: Ford Motor Co; Honda Motor Co; Chrysler Group LLC, a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Mazda Motor Corp and BMW AG.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave Takata until Tuesday to issue a recall. If the company does not, NHTSA "may begin proceedings" leading to fines for the Japanese air bag supplier of up to $7,000 per vehicle that the U.S. road safety regulator says should have been recalled.

Takata has resisted expanding the recall beyond the initial regional "high humidity" areas.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Chris Gallagher)