With the biggest vehicle recall ever in American history, safety regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may increase the Takata airbag recall to over 23.4 million vehicles.
Due to exploding airbags and flying shrapnel, there have been 100 injuries and eight deaths to date, yet these dangerous airbags are still installed in certain vehicles.
NHTSA regulators are considering spearheading a campaign to educate car owners about the necessity of quickly getting their vehicles in for repair because there is concern that vehicle owners are not taking this recall seriously.
Which vehicles are affected by the Takata scandal?
Recalls have been issued for vehicles manufactured by BMW, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Daimler, Honda, and Subaru.
Another 400 vehicles manufactured by General Motors will be recalled as well, including the 2015 Malibu, Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac XTS, the GMC Terrain, and the Buick Lacrosse.
How many vehicles will be recalled?
To date, there have been 23.4 million vehicles recalled. However, due to the potential for death or serious injury caused by Takata airbags, that number is expected to climb to a number not yet known.
Of the 23.4 million vehicles recalled so far, 14 million were manufactured by Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, Honda, Ford and BMW.
What is the main culprit behind the faulty Takata airbags?
The safety probe continues by investigators because the exact cause of the faulty airbags is still not known. However, while a direct cause is not known at this time, investigators have concluded that vehicles driven in hotter climates appear to be at a higher risk.
Additionally, safety regulators now know to include side airbags in their investigation after a number of Takata side airbag incidents involving Volkswagen and GM vehicles.
More Takata airbag information
In order to speed the recall and repair process, new and improved Takata airbags are being produced at around 2.8 million per month. Because of the demand, other airbag makers have stepped in to help with 70 percent of the parts production.
If you’d like to speak with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer regarding a faulty airbag, contact the Cincinnati personal injury law firm of O’Connor, Acciani & Levy today.