Defective Takata airbags that are used by the major vehicle manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Ford, GMC, Nissan etc. could become the largest vehicle safety recall in the history. More than 30 million cars and trucks nationwide are equipped with defective Takata airbags (As per. Oct. 26th 2014). Takata Corporation announced that an estimated 33.8 million cars will be recalled due to defective airbags manufactured by a Takata subsidiary which is the largest recall of a consumer product in U.S. history (As per. June 8th 2015).
More than 50 million cars and trucks have already been recalled in what has become the worst year for recalls in U.S. history. One in five vehicles on the road are at risk of critical defects (Year 2014).
What consumers should know about the Takata airbag recalls
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Year 2014:
Micheline Maynard, professor of business journalism at Arizona State University (Phonix, Arizona) says that Takata airbag defect could actually be the bigger problem than GM ignition switch defect because it affects 11 different car companies and the vehicles affected are from year 2000 to 2008. There are still a lot of these vehicles on US roads. It is automakers responsibility to notify the owners of the vehicles for the recall but it is wise to be proactive and check to see if your vehicle is affected or not. Mostly the Passenger airbags are affected with this Takata airbag defect which was drifting along for about six years. Takata has to make the replacement or a fix for defective airbags.
Federal safety authorities have recalled 8 million vehicles over Takata airbag defect in a few states – Florida, Puerto Rico, limited areas near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana, as well as Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii. This is a limited action that lawmakers said Thursday was insufficient to address what they deemed “a public safety threat.” Manufacturing the replacement of the defective airbags by Takata could take a long time and once they are available the dealerships could quickly become overwhelmed by the demand to replace the dangerous airbags that general public are driving with. This possess a serious threat to safety of the occupants in the affected vehicles. GM had the similar problem when they recalled their vehicle for defective ignition switches.
“Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures. However, we’re leaving no stone unturned in our aggressive pursuit to track down the full geographic scope of this issue,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman.
Feds has ordered Honda to produce Takata airbag documents including Early Warning Reports to the government. US regulator has also asked Takata to give them the faulty air-bag documents.
Year 2014 + 2015:
So far 34 million vehicles affected. Here is the most up to date Takata Airbag Recall list as of today (8th June 2015):
Nissan: Approx. 1,091,000 vehicles
- 2001-03 Nissan Maxima
- 2001-04 Nissan Pathfinder
- 2002-04 Nissan Sentra
- 2001-04 Infiniti I30/I35
- 2002-03 Infiniti QX4
- 2003-05 Infiniti FX
BMW: Approx. 765,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 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
- 2002-2005 BMW 325i/325xi/330i/330xi Sedan (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2002-2005 BMW 325xi/325i Sports Wagon (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2002-2006 BMW 330Ci/325Ci/M3 Convertible (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2002-2006 BMW 325i/330i/M3 Coupe (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2002-2003 BMW M5/540i/525i/530i Sedan (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2002-2003 BMW 540i/525i Sports Wagon (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2003-2004 BMW X5 3.0i/4.4i Sports Activity Vehicle (Updated May 28th 2015)
Chrysler: Approx. 4.75 million total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2004 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2005 – 2009 Dodge Ram 2500 (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2006 – 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2007-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Cab Chassis (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2008-2010 Dodge Ram 4500/5500 Cab Chassis (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2008-2009 Sterling 4500/5500 Cab Chassis (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
- 2008 – Dodge Ram 5500
- 2004 – 2008 Dodge Durango (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota to 2005-2011 Dodge Dakota (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2005 – 2010 Chrysler 300/300C/SRT8 (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen
- 2005-2010 Dodge Charger/Magnum (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2006-2010 Mitsubishi Raider (Updated May 28th 2015)
Ford: Approx. 1,380,604 total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2004 – 2006 Ford Ranger (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2005 – 2006 Ford GT
- 2005 – 2014 Ford Mustang (Updated June 1st 2015)
General Motors: Approx. 330,198, including Chevrolet
- 2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe
- 2005 – Saab 9-2X
- 2007 – 2008 GMC Sierra 2500/3500 (Updated May 29th 2015)
- 2007-2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500 (Updated May 29th 2015)
Honda: Approx. 5.5 million total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2001 – 2007 Honda Accord
- 2001 – 2005 Honda Civic
- 2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V
- 2003 – 2011 Honda Element
- 2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey
- 2003 – 2008 Honda Pilot (Updated June 3rd 2015)
- 2006 – Honda Ridgeline
- 2003 – 2006 Acura MDX
- 2002 – 2003 Acura TL (Updated June 3rd 2015)
- 2013 Acura CL (Updated June 3rd 2015)
- 2005 – Acura RL
Mazda: Approx. 450, 000 total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2003 – 2008 Mazda6
- 2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
- 2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8
- 2004 – 2005 MPV
- 2004 – B-Series Truck
- 2004-2006 model years Mazda B-Series Pickup (Updated June 4th 2015)
Mitsubishi: Approx. 104,994 total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2004 – 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer/Lancer Evolution (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback (Updated May 28th 2015)
- 2006 – 2007 Raider
Nissan: Approx. 1,091,000, including Infinity total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 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: Approx. 80,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2003 – 2005 Baja
- 2003 – 2005 Legacy
- 2003 – 2005 Outback
- 2004 – 2005 Impreza
- 2004-2005 Subaru Impreza Sedan/Station Wagon (Updated May 29th 2015)
- 2005 Saab 9-2x (Updated May 29th 2015)
Toyota: Approx. 1,514,000, including Lexus and Pontiac Vibe total number of potentially affected vehicles
- 2002 – 2005 Lexus SC
- 2002 – 2007 Toyota Corolla
- 2003 – 2007 Toyota Corolla Matrix
- 2002 – 2007 Toyota Sequoia
- 2003 – 2006 Toyota Tundra
- 2004 – 2005 RAV4
The Tracy Firm on Takata Airbags Defects:
On June 3rd 2015 at TTLA Seminar in Austin TX, Attorney Todd Tracy spoke on “Why Airbag Shortcomings will Jeopardize Vehicle Safety for the Next 10 Years“. Products Liability Attorney E. Todd Tracy said “Even had Takata not recalled 34 million frontal airbags for exploding shrapnel into the bodies’ of occupants the airbag was designed to protect, there are numerous airbag shortcomings that will jeopardize vehicle safety for the next ten years.” Click here for more information on the seminar.
Takata Airbag Recall Lawyer E. Todd Tracy has tried many vehicle crashworthiness cases against Takata Corporation. Mr. Tracy is widely recognized as one of America’s best product liability lawyers. Todd is a Dallas attorney that maintains a national practice dedicated to handling vehicle safety issues. He has handled over 2,400 cases against every major vehicle, component part, and child seat manufacturer. He has tried 124 crashworthiness cases against many manufacturers. Mr. Tracy has handled cases all over the country in both federal and state jurisdictions, appearing pro hac vice in 42 states and the U. S. Virgin Islands.
We have been holding automotive parts manufacturers like Takata Corporation, liable and accountable for the negligence in manufacturing defective vehicle parts. We specialize in only handling vehicle safety defect cases causing serious personal injuries for more than 2 decades and all across the United States. If you or your loved ones are are seriously injured due to airbag explosion in a frontal vehicle accidents in vehicles recalled by Honda, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Chrysler, Mazda, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Isuzu; please contact our law office at 214-324-9000.
Source: NHTSA, PBS, TRACY Law Firm, PJ | Update One: June 8th 2015 | Original Publication: Oct. 26th 2014
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