Air Bag Defect Recall Connected to 4 Deaths Has Limited Geographic Range
... #ad▼The owners of nearly five million vehicles with a potentially deadly airbag defect are being urged to bring them in for repairs. So far, more than 11 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled. Jeff Glor reports.
The U.S. government issued an urgent plea to more than 4.7 million motorists to get the air bags in their cars fixed, because of a defect in the inflator mechanism that can possibly kill or injure the driver or passengers.
The problem with the airbags has been known by Honda since at 2004, but a recent fatality in Florida has caused safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to step up the alert. A September 29 crash near Orlando, Florida claimed the life of a 46-year-old woman, Hien Thi Tran, who suffered severe neck wounds that could have been caused by metal fragments or shrapnel flying out of the air bag on her 2001 Honda Accord. Her Honda Accord was among the models being recalled. CBS Evening News reports that there has also been deaths in California, Oklahoma, and Virginia.
On June 13, 2014, NHTSA requested all potentially affected vehicle manufacturers conduct a limited regional campaign for potentially affected vehicles operating in high humidity areas identified as high risk regions, specifically, Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, even if the vehicle manufacturer had not identified a safety defect or made a safety decision.
Exploding airbags continue to injure drivers, even after major recall (report from CBS News reporter Jeff Glor).
The recall is one of the biggest auto recalls in American history centered around an exploding airbag found in millions of vehicles. The Takata brand airbag has a history of exploding and sending shrapnel flying upon impact. Despite the fact that over 11 million vehicles with this dangerous defect were recalled, CBS News reporter Jeff Glor found that there are many still on the road in his report published.
NHTSA reports that 247,000 Toyota vehicles from 2002-2005, including Corolla and Lexus SC models, have been recalled because air bag inflators that may rupture upon deployment of the air bags.
Motorists are supposed to be able to check the VIN of their vehicle to check to see if their vehicle is matched for the exploding air bag recall and any other recalls. However, users are reporting broken links and server error messages
Toyota: 778,177 total number of vehicles potentially affected
2002 – 2004 Lexus SC
2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla
2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002 – 2004 Toyota Sequoia
2003 – 2004 Toyota Tundra
2003 – 2004 Pontiac Vibe
Honda: 2,803,214 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2007 Honda Accord (4 cyl)
2001 – 2002 Honda Accord (6 cyl)
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
Nissan: 437,712 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2001 2003 Nissan Maxima
2001 – 2003 Nissan Pathfinder
2002 – 2003 Nissan Sentra
2001 – 2003 Infiniti I30/I35
2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4
2003 Infiniti FX
Mazda: 18,050 total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2004 Mazda6
2004 Mazda RX-8
BMW: 573,935 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
General Motors: 133,221 total number potentially affected vehicles
2002 – 2003 Buick LeSabre
2002 – 2003 Buick Rendezvous
2002 – 2003 Cadillac DeVille
2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer
2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Impala
2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Venture
2002 – 2003 GMC Envoy
2002 – 2003 GMC Envoy XL
2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora
2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Bravada
2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette
2002 – 2003 Pontiac Bonneville
2002 – 2003 Pontiac Montana