A few days ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a major recall of defective airbags made by Japanese company Takata for 11 car manufacturers.
About 33.8 million vehicles are being recalled to replace frontal airbags on the driver’s side or passenger’s side, or both. The airbags, made by major parts supplier Takata, were installed in cars from model year 2002 through 2008. Some of those airbags could deploy explosively, and have caused at least 6 deaths and more than 100 injuries.
Nissan explains: “The [air bag] propellant could potentially deteriorate over time due to environmental factors [many years in high humidity conditions], which could lead to over-aggressive combustion in the event of an airbag deployment. This could create excessive internal pressure within the inflator and could cause the inflator housing to rupture.”
If the airbag housing ruptures in a crash, metal shards from the airbag can be sprayed throughout the passenger cabin—a potentially disastrous outcome from a supposedly life-saving device.
Cars affected include automakers Honda, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Saab, Subaru and Toyota dating back to the 2001 model year.
Automakers are required to send you a recall notice if your vehicle is under recall. But a quick way to find out, without waiting for your automaker’s recall notice, is go to the Transportation Department’s safety recall website https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/vinLookup or click here.
By entering your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), you can find out if your vehicle is subject to the Takata air bag recall or any other safety recalls.
Source: Consumer Reports
~Éowyn
