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Takata Links $440 Million Special Loss to Airbag Recalls

* Takata could face more costs if car makers expand air bag recalls

* Takata says still studying impact on annual profit forecast (Adds Takata saying still studying impact on annual forecast, share price move and background)

TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters) - Takata Corp said on Friday it would book a special loss of around 45 billion yen ($440 million) in the April-June quarter after several car makers recently recalled vehicles due to potential problems with its air bags.

Automakers including Honda Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp and BMW have said they were recalling vehicles to fix Takata-made air bags that could explode and shoot out shrapnel.

The cost of the latest recalls, announced in June and July, could increase if a safety investigation in the United States finds evidence that driving in high humidity increases the risk of the air bags exploding, or if car makers decide to expand the recalls beyond certain U.S. regions.

Takata said it is still studying the impact of the special loss on its full-year forecast. The company currently expects to post 16 billion yen in net profit for the year ending in March 2015.

In the year to March 2013, Takata took a $300 million charge and posted a record 21.1 billion yen net loss after car makers recalled 4 million vehicles worldwide over passenger-side air bags.

Takata shares ended down 2.2 percent at 1,916 yen prior to the announcement, underperforming Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei average that fell 1.0 percent. Takata shares have dropped nearly 15 percent over the last month, after car makers started to announce the most recent round of recalls.

More than 12 million vehicles have been recalled over the last five years by multiple automakers due to potential problems with Takata air bags. ($1 = 101.3500 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Miral Fahmy)