Emergency Air-Bag Recall Increased to 7.8 Million Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now says owners of 7.8 million vehicles fitted with air bags manufactured by Japan’s Takata Corp. are in danger, and should have those vehicles seen by their dealers immediately.

The vehicles are at risk of air-bag failure or, worse, air-bag explosions, which could spray metal debris into the driver or passenger area, with potentially fatal consequences.

Many of the vehicles have already been the subject of safety recalls. But many have not been returned to dealers to have their air bags checked or replaced.

The vehicles involved include automobiles made by Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and BMW — with Honda vehicles making up the bulk of the NHTSA list.

Concerned automobile owners can check their vehicle identification numbers, or VINs, against an NHTSA listing online.

(The NHTSA website was temporarily shut down mid-morning Wednesday, perhaps as a result of increased inquiries from vehicle owners.)

The affected vehicles, many of them manufactured between 2000 and 2004, are equipped with air bags made or containing parts made at Takata factories in the U.S. and Mexico. A problem with the air bags’ propellant can cause the safety restraint systems to fail during a collision, or even to deploy when no collision occurs.

Multiple accidents and some fatalities may be connected to the spontaneous explosion of the air bags, and the resulting spray of shrapnel into the driver’s seat.

Vehicles being operated in areas subject to consistent high heat and humidity are especially at risk. NHTSA is particularly concerned about cars being driven in Florida, areas of Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia, along with Hawaii, the Virgin Islands and certain South Pacific areas, like Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.

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Here is a complete list of the suspect vehicles, along with the number of vehicles included in this warning:

BMW: (627,615 vehicles potentially affected)

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)

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)

2004 – Ranger

2005 – 2006 GT

2005 – 2007 Mustang

General Motors: (N.A.)

2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe

2005 – Saab 9-2X

Honda: (5,051,364)

2001 – 2007 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)

2003 – 2007 Mazda6

2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6

2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8

2004 – 2005 MPV

2004 – B-Series Truck

Mitsubishi: (11,985)

2004 – 2005 Lancer

2006 – 2007 Raider

Nissan: (694,626)

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)

2003 – 2005 Baja

2003 – 2005 Legacy

2003 – 2005 Outback

2003 – 2005 Baja

2004 – 2005 Impreza

Toyota: (877,000)

2002 – 2005 Lexus SC

2002 – 2005 Toyota Corolla

2003 – 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix

2002 – 2005 Toyota Sequoia

2003 – 2005 Toyota Tundra

This article appeared in print in the October 23rd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.