This week, the United States National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) widened the scope of a dangerous airbag system recall, now including 7.8 million BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, GM, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, and Toyota cars and trucks, model years 2000 to 2008.
Manufactured by the Japanese multinational Takata Corporation, these airbags use a defective propellant mechanism and frame which can explode on deployment, sending plastic and metal shrapnel into the faces and chests of both drivers and those riding in the passenger seat. To-date, this airbag defect has been linked to four deaths and thirty injuries from airbag ruptures in consistently warm areas such as, “Florida, Puerto Rico, limited areas near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana, as well as Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii” (NHTSA).
While this recall began in 2008, the NHTSA has not commented substantially as to why the recall was broadened in recent days. According to Bloomberg News, “Honda alone has recalled 6 million vehicles globally since 2008 because of the flaw.”
NHTSA: “Consumers impacted by the recalls should have their vehicles serviced promptly once they receive notification from their vehicle manufacturer. NHTSA remains in close communication with the supplier and automakers to gather additional data and will take appropriate action based on our findings.”
Check back here for more updates as this story continues to unfold.
Cars Containing Defective Takata Airbags:
As of October 20th, 2014, the NHTSA list of cars containing these defective Takata airbags was as follows:
BMW: 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan
2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible
2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe
2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible
Chrysler: 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Ram 2500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 3500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
2008 – Dodge Ram 5500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Durango
2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota
2005 – 2008 Chrysler 300
2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen
Ford: 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2004 – Ranger
2005 – 2006 GT
2005 – 2007 Mustang
General Motors: undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe
2005 – Saab 9-2X
Honda: 5,051,364 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2007 Honda Accord)
2001 – 2002 Honda Accord
2001 – 2005 Honda Civic
2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V
2003 – 2011 Honda Element
2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey
2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot
2006 – Honda Ridgeline
2003 – 2006 Acura MDX
2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL
2005 – Acura RL
Mazda: 64,872 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2007 Mazda6
2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8
2004 – 2005 MPV
2004 – B-Series Truck
Mitsubishi: 11,985 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2004 – 2005 Lancer
2006 – 2007 Raider
Nissan: 694,626 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima
2001 – 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002 – 2004 Nissan Sentra
2001 – 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4
2003 – 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45
Subaru: 17,516 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Baja
2003 – 2005 Legacy
2003 – 2005 Outback
2004 – 2005 Impreza
Toyota: 877,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2002 – 2005 Lexus SC
2002 – 2005 Toyota Corolla
2003 – 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002 – 2005 Toyota Sequoia
2003 – 2005 Toyota Tundra
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