Since the first report on the faulty Takata airbags was published back in 2013, over 70 million airbag inflators have been recalled globally, with 10 deaths and more than 100 injuries in the U.S. alone attributed to the defective components during this period. The faulty airbags are spread across 14 different brands, including luxury-car automakers such as BMW, Audi, Lexus, and Infiniti.
Now, the Takata airbag scandal has reached an even more serious level, with federal authorities saying that a certain number of vehicles equipped with the faulty airbags should not be used at all, and should be fixed immediately, to prevent further serious injuries and fatalities.
Over 300,000 Vehicles Posing Serious Risk
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a warning for certain Honda and Acura models built between 2001 and 2003, stating that owners should not drive them before they have them fixed, because of the high risk of the vehicles’ airbag inflators rupturing during deployment and causing severe injuries or death.
In a press release, the NHTSA notes that due to a manufacturing defect, airbags in a total of 313,000 vehicles are at risk of rupturing when being deployed in the event of a collision, adding that the potential for that to occur is higher in Southern California, Texas, Florida, and other parts of the Gulf Coast, because of the high absolute humidity in those areas.
The vehicles that the NHTSA says have to be recalled and repaired are:
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2001-2002 Honda Civic
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2001-2002 Honda Accord
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2002-2003 Acura TL
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2002 Honda CR-V
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2002 Honda Odyssey
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2003 Acura CL
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2003 Honda Pilot
“With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a crash, these vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.”
Owners Urged to Have Their Vehicles Checked
The NHTSA says that those who own a vehicle affected by this latest recall, should immediately go to SafeCar.gov, to inform themselves about the recall and whether their vehicle had already been included in a previous recall. The agency says that those vehicle owners should bring their cars to an authorized dealer and have them fixed at no cost to themselves.
“The air bag inflators in this particular group of vehicles pose a grave danger to drivers and passengers that must be fixed right away,” said NHTSA Administrator Dr. Mark Rosekind. “Drivers should visit SaferCar.gov or contact their local dealer to check whether their vehicle is affected. If it is, they should have the vehicle repaired immediately for free at an authorized dealer. We commend Honda for taking additional actions to get these vehicles repaired.”