4.4 million vehicles are being added to the Takata airbag recall. Seven automakers are posted additional recalls to the already historically large Takata airbag recall.
Volkswagen, Ford, Jaguar-Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Daimler Vans vehicles are included in the newest recall. Including today’s additions, the Takata airbag recall has affected about 70 million airbags across the United States.
On Friday, 12 million vehicles were recalled. Honda’s recalls continue to be the largest, although Fiat Chrysler has also recalled a substantial amount of their vehicles due to the faulty airbags. In Japan, home of Takata and Honda, recalls have reached a total of nearly 20 million vehicles.
The recalled airbags contain ammonium nitrate. This is meant to act as a propellant in the airbag, allowing the bag to inflate quickly enough to protect passengers in the event of an accident. Instead, the ammonium nitrate is destabilizing over time, leading to unneeded explosions of the airbags.
Ammonium nitrate takes about six years to deteriorate to the point of explosion. If your vehicle is an older vehicle listed in the recalls, you should bring it into your retailer or manufacturer immediately. Do not feel that because your airbags have not had any faults yet they will continue not to. Visit your car manufacturer’s website for details about which cars are affected.
Vehicles that are primarily located in hotter and more humid areas are also being targeted for the first rounds of fixes. Heat and humidity cause ruptures in airbags, making the affected airbags more likely to explode.
The explosions have caused 11 deaths and over 100 injuries. Two further deaths in Malaysia are being investigated to see if the Takata airbags were at fault. Before today’s and last week’s recalls, the Takata airbag recall was already the largest in U.S. history. This story will likely continue to update. Check back with Disaster Claim for more information as the story develops.
