It is a recall impacting over a dozen makes and models: the Takata airbag recall was issued back in 2014.
“More than 19 manufacturers, more than 40 million cars nationwide,” said Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief at Carfax.
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Now, about 10 years later, there are still millions of vehicles with a potential danger lurking inside.
“Nationwide, there are 6.4 million vehicles with unfixed Takata airbags,” Olsen said. “It’s just alarming that after 10 years, there’s still so many left.”
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One big reason why involves how recalls are sent. Notices are typically delivered right to your mailbox. You may see the notice, think it’s junk mail and toss it without realizing what it was all about. Or maybe you did see it, but simply forgot to take care of it.
“They wait weeks, they wait months,” Olsen said. “And after all, they’re like, well, nothing’s happened to me so I must be OK. And sadly, nothing can be further from the truth.”
Olsen said a recent Carfax data analysis shows 62,000 of these unfixed airbags are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The record heat we’re experiencing could be especially problematic for the impacted airbags.
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“Over time, moisture builds up inside that airbag inflator and the more moisture that gets in there, the greater the explosive force when the airbag ignites,” Olsen said. “It turns the metal ring around the airbag into shrapnel, literal flying pieces of metal that are sent into the cabin.”
Olsen said at least 25 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been linked to defective Takata airbags.
“Even if you’re a great driver, someone could hit you, set off that airbag and if you have the wrong airbag, you could be in trouble,” he said. “A lot of these cars are all the way back to the 2002 model year. So these are 20-year-old plus cars. They’re on their second, third, fourth owner. A lot of them are in the hands of teen drivers who may not even think that they’ll look for recalls.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an entire page dedicated to the Takata airbag recall. You can check it out by clicking here.
You can also check to see if your car has any open recalls on NHTSA’s website, using just your license plate number or VIN.
