The latest series of recalls involving air bag defects affected millions of vehicles nationwide.
According to news reports, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has indicated that replacement parts may not be entirely available to all impacted vehicles until the end of the year. Over 2.1 million vehicles manufactured by Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota are now being recalled for other issues. According to the reports, the airbags may suddenly deploy even if the vehicle is not involved in a crash. This is the second air bag-related recall for some of these vehicles that had already been recalled over the devices since they may explode during deployment.
The reports indicate that, if remedies are not ready for all impacted vehicles, auto accidents involving these vehicles could increase the risk of personal injury.
Cars fitted with the Takata air bags manufactured with certain parts that could explode during deployment may have been developed with defective electronic components. While the primary fix for this issue involves installing a filter that would protect the electrical component, the NHTSA believes that that’s not enough to protect drivers and their passengers.
Federal agents are pushing Takata to urge the American supplier TRW Automotive to develop full replacements for the defective parts.
Simple Remedy Won’t Fix Air Bag Issue
The federal agency has been pushing automakers to issue nationwide recall campaigns to address the airbag inflator issue. Until remedies can be made available, some automakers are deciding to deal with local recalls first.
The newest recall involving air bags affect 753,000 Chrysler, one million Toyota, and 374,000 Honda vehicles. The latest recall campaign was issued after inadvertent deployments involving some of these vehicles occurred in 2012, 2013, and 2014. While this recall is recent, companies have been struggling with the issue since 2011. Previous remedies developed for the unexpected deployment issue appear to not be working the way the company had previously claimed.
This is worrying federal agents who are now pushing automakers to develop a better remedy that involves replacing the entire defective piece. The push follows an investigation carried out by the agency that looked into how adequate the fix administered by the automakers in earlier recalls was. The impacted vehicles fitted with air bags that could deploy unexpectedly include the 2003 and 2004 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, Avalon, Pontiac Vibe, Dodge Viper, and Honda Odyssey. Other vehicles impacted include the 2003 Acura MDX, 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty, and 2002 through 2004 Grand Cherokee.
So far, NHTSA has received 40 reports regarding the original fix not working, which could cause air bags to deploy even if the vehicle is not involved in a crash.
If you’re curious to know more about this recent recall and how the air bags are being impacted, follow this link.