If you own a vehicle equipped with Takata airbags[1] and you've been waiting for a recall notice, pay attention: this morning, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted more than a dozen new Takata-related recalls to its online database, and they affect millions of vehicles in the U.S.
The publication of those recalls caps off nearly two tough weeks for Takata.
Last Friday, following a years-long investigation, the Japanese supplier finally admitted wrongdoing[2] when it repeatedly lied about the safety of its airbag inflators, which were filled with ammonium nitrate. The company also agreed to pay the U.S. government a $1 billion fine.
In the days leading up to that announcement, we saw a slew of new recalls related to Takata's fatally flawed airbags, which have been linked to at least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide.
Those recalls were issued directly by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles[3], Ford[4], and Honda[5], and they affected roughly 1,688,000 vehicles bearing Acura, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Lincoln, Mercury, and Ram badges.
Today, NHTSA added those recalls to its website, along with others BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, and others. These previously unreported recalls add more than 650,000 Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Fisker, Jaguar-Land Rover, Karma, Mazda, McLaren, Mercedes-Bemz, Nissan, Subaru, and Tesla vehicles to the long, long Takata repair list.
The glut of recalls comes about a month after NHTSA issued an Amendment to the Coordinated Remedy Order (PDF[6]), which, among other things, accelerated the pace of the Takata recall. The agency has ordered that all Takata frontal airbag inflators equipped with ammonium nitrate and no desiccant must be replaced.
(That's because moisture has proven to be a key factor in destabilizing Takata's ammonium nitrate. Whether NHTSA will ultimately insist that all inflators using ammonium nitrate be replaced is a matter for debate.)
The Takata recall now affects 42 million vehicles in America. To find out whether your car is among them, start by perusing this rundown[7] of makes and models affected. Then, search NHTSA's recall database[8] for details, using your car's vehicle identification number, or VIN. That search will tell you whether your ride is affected by other recalls, too.
References
- ^ Takata airbags (www.thecarconnection.com)
- ^ finally admitted wrongdoing (www.thecarconnection.com)
- ^ Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (www.thecarconnection.com)
- ^ Ford (www.thecarconnection.com)
- ^ Honda (www.thecarconnection.com)
- ^ PDF (www.nhtsa.gov)
- ^ perusing this rundown (www.nhtsa.gov)
- ^ NHTSA's recall database (www.nhtsa.gov)
