Killer Airbags: 1.4M Cars are in Danger. What’s About Yours?
People don’t learn from their experience, and here is one more proof for that. Dangerous issues with Takata airbags started in 2002. In 2019, we still face problems with them, and the automotive industry hasn’t banned them forever.
The previous year, Takata corporation extended its recall to 3.3 million passenger airbags which inflator might explode to the passenger’s face!
The Heart of the Problem
So, the mess has happened with airbags’ inflators – a metal cartridge with propellant wafers inside – which didn’t stop when airbags started expanding, so the result was an explosion of metal details and causing severe damage to people.
Metal parts were sprayed to someone sitting near to a driver, and sometimes, such cases had fatal outcomes.
The root of tragedies was defined by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Ammonium nitrate-based propellent used in airbags doesn’t use chemical drying agents. So, outer moisture, heat, or age can turn a life-saving device into a weapon killing people with shrapnel.
16 deaths in the USA and 24 deaths worldwide and more than 300 severe injuries globally were the cases for the mass recall. The last incident happened in Arizona (2018) when a driver of Honda Civic was killed by a ruptured inflator. That man bought his Civic three months ago, probably, this was his first car, and it simply killed him. It’s a very sad story, still, no one can feel safe until they check VIN codes for this recall.
Why so late? – you might ask, but we don’t have an answer. Thank God, people began fixing that and if you are an owner of a car with Takata airbag, hurry up to the nearest dealership and claim for replacing it with a new one for free.
What Cars Can Kill You?
Recently, the NHTSA announced one more recall for faulty airbags. About 1.4 million cars are left with defects. Various brands encountered this large-scale issue including Honda, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi.
In general, starting in 2002, more than 41.6 million cars have been recalled for the same reason. Nevertheless, the latest recall implies only vehicles containing Non-azide driver inflators. Outcomes can be awful – an airbag can either be underinflated or explode. Both of them may cause the driver’s death. And if it explodes, not only a driver can suffer but everyone inside a car.
What Should Drivers Do?
If you have a car produced by one of the above-mentioned manufacturers, hurry up to check it for recalls. Visit the NHTSA website and check your car’s VIN code.
If you see that your vehicle is equipped with a potential ‘killer’, take care of yourself and your passengers – address the nearest sales office or official service and drive there for diagnostics. I personally had experience in replacing a faulty Takata airbag in Honda Accord Coupe – it took only an hour to replace it with a new and properly working one. One hour of your time in exchange for life is an excellent option, what do you think?
