34-Million Vehicles Recalled Due To Defective Airbags, Largest Auto Recall Ever
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – Air bag maker Takata Corp. has agreed to declare 33.8 million of its inflator mechanisms defective, effectively doubling the number of cars and trucks that have been recalled in the U.S. so far.
Many of Takatas airbags can explode and send shrapnel flying.
The airbags are being blamed for at least six-deaths and more than 100-injuries.
The announcement was made Tuesday afternoon by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reached an agreement with Takata after sparring with the company for the past year over the size of the recalls and the cause of the problem with millions of air bags. It will be the largest recall in the agency's history.
"Up until now Takata has refused to acknowledge their airbags are defective, that changes today," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
Many drivers are not going to know for sure if their vehicles are affected for days at best Foxx said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says they are waiting for automakers to supply information on all the affected cars.
They are continuously updating recall information here.
You can find out if your vehicle is on the recall list by looking up the VIN number at this link: https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/
Most of the fatalities and most of the recalled cars were made by Honda.
Ten automakers, including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have recalled 17 million vehicles in the U.S. and more than 36 million worldwide because of the problem. Those numbers will grow by millions because of the agreement, but it's unclear which manufacturers will be most affected by the expanded recalls.
Automakers must conduct recalls even if they are for defective parts.
The Takata recall dwarfs last year's highly publicized recall of 2.6 million General Motors small cars for defective ignition switches.
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