The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called the Takata airbag recall one of the “largest and most complex safety recall[s] in U.S. history.” The company began making airbags in 1988 and held 20% of the market in 2014. During 2013, vehicles made by 19 different automakers were recalled to replace frontal airbags on the driver’s and passenger’s sides. All of these defective airbags were made by Takata.
What made the products so dangerous was the airbag’s inflator, which could ignite with explosive force. This inflator is made of metal, and when it exploded, it launched metal shrapnel toward the passenger or driver nearest the heart of the blast. There were more than 100 injuries and 9 deaths related to the defective airbags.
In 2013, 3.6 million cars were recalled. In June of 2014, several other manufacturers (Chrysler, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota) announced they recalled more than 3 million vehicles worldwide that contained the defective airbags. The NHTSA ordered Takata to initiate a nationwide airbag recall in late November of 2014. This happened as 10 auto manufacturers in the United States recalled hundreds of thousands of cars equipped with potentially faulty air bags. In May 2016, the NHTSA announced more recall campaigns of about 35 to 40 million inflators.
Several manufacturers were involved in this recall. Your car may have been affected if it was made by one of the following companies:
- BMW
- Daimler (Mercedes-Benz)
- Ferrari
- Fiat Chrysler
- Ford
- GM
- Honda
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Karma (Fisker)
- Mazda
- McLaren
- Mitsubishi
- Nissan
- Subaru
- Tesla
- Toyota
- VW Group
However, to know for sure whether or not a part of your car has been recalled, visit the NHTSA’s vehicle identification number (VIN) recall search engine. If you type in your VIN, the website will tell you of any safety recalls that have been conducted over the past 15 calendar years made by major light automobile manufacturers. Finding this information is vital to the health and safety of you and any passengers you carry. Takata has explained that the danger of rupture takes several years of exposure to high humidity to come about, but this timeline could also vary depending on vehicle design and manufacturing.
If you need help seeking legal recourse for an injury caused by an auto manufacturer, give our skilled lawyers a call. Our experienced Alexandria personal injury attorneys have more than 30 years of combined experience to offer in addition to our zealous representation and outstanding client care. We are dedicated, relentless, and passionate about helping people get the compensation they deserve. For more information about what we can do to help you resolve your case, please contact us at our office today.