Takata made history this week with the announcement that they are doubling the number of cars recalled from 17 million to 34 million. This makes the Takata recall over defective airbags the largest American recall to date. Affecting cars from eleven different automakers produced from 2002-2008, the recall now reaches one in seven cars in America. Takata faulty airbags have been linked to six deaths and more than 100 injuries. The exact cause of the problem is still under investigation and has been at the center of a year-long debate between Takata and the U.S. government.
While there have been numerous confusing statements from the dozens of automakers involved, Nissan’s explanation of the issue was one of the clearest: “The propellant could potentially deteriorate over time due to environmental factors [due to 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.
If your car’s air bag is being recalled, you should receive a recall notice from the automaker. Automakers also have recall home pages with information for customers. Additionally, you can go to the government’s Takata page, http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/index.html, and key in your vehicle identification number (VIN) for more information.
