Drivers get few answers in air bag recall
One day after the government issued an urgent letter advising consumers to take immediate action to fix exploding air bags, there was no apparent urgency on the nation's auto safety website.
A search feature for recalled cars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website did not work. A separate page listing affected vehicles was inaccurate, including vehicles not involved.
Callers to NHTSA were put on hold and heard a recording that said, "A customer service representative will return your call within one business day."
"NHTSA is not ready -- this is a system that is clearly broken," Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said. "These airbags are ticking time bombs and any one of them can go off in any car at any time."
The explosions from Takata airbags can send shrapnel through a vehicle. That flying metal has been linked to at least four deaths and 30 injuries.
More than half the nearly 12 million recalled vehicles are made by Honda. But there are eight other manufacturers involved, including Toyota. The company is telling people who own affected cars that no one should sit in the passenger seat until the problem is fixed and that dealers will disable airbags until the parts required to fix them are in.
Millions of cars, however, are not scheduled to be fixed at all because most recalls have been ordered in warm-weather states, where Takata thinks high humidity makes an explosion more likely.
"NHTSA treats these cars like they never go anywhere, like they are never driven to another part of the country," Markey said.
CBS News has discovered complaints of airbags exploding in multiple states outside the recall zone, including Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Maryland.
The NHTSA released an updated advisory Tuesday night with a new list of the vehicles being recalled:
BMW: 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2000 - 2005 3 Series Sedan
2000 - 2006 3 Series Coupe
2000 - 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
2000 - 2006 3 Series Convertible
2001 - 2006 M3 Coupe
2001 - 2006 M3 Convertible
Chrysler: 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2003 - 2008 Dodge Ram 1500
2005 - 2008 Dodge Ram 2500
2006 - 2008 Dodge Ram 3500
2006 - 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
2008 - Dodge Ram 5500
2005 - 2008 Dodge Durango
2005 - 2008 Dodge Dakota
2005 - 2008 Chrysler 300
2007 - 2008 Chrysler Aspen
Ford: 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2004 - Ranger
2005 - 2006 GT
2005 - 2007 Mustang
General Motors: undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 - 2005 Pontiac Vibe
2005 - Saab 9-2X
Honda: 5,051,364 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2001 - 2007 Honda Accord
2001 - 2005 Honda Civic
2002 - 2006 Honda CR-V
2003 - 2011 Honda Element
2002 - 2004 Honda Odyssey
2003 - 2007 Honda Pilot
2006 - Honda Ridgeline
2003 - 2006 Acura MDX
2002 - 2003 Acura TL/CL
2005 - Acura RL
Mazda: 64,872 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2003 - 2007 Mazda6
2006 - 2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004 - 2008 Mazda RX-8
2004 - 2005 MPV
2004 - B-Series Truck
Mitsubishi: 11,985 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2004 - 2005 Lancer
2006 - 2007 Raider
Nissan: 694,626 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2001 - 2003 Nissan Maxima
2001 - 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002 - 2004 Nissan Sentra
2001 - 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
2002 - 2003 Infiniti QX4
2003 - 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45
Subaru: 17,516 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2003 - 2005 Baja
2003 - 2005 Legacy
2003 - 2005 Outback
2003 - 2005 Baja
2004 - 2005 Impreza
Toyota: 877,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles:
2002 - 2005 Lexus SC
2002 - 2005 Toyota Corolla
2003 - 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002 - 2005 Toyota Sequoia
2003 - 2005 Toyota Tundra
