Takata Massive Airbag Recall Intensifies

by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin October 22, 2014

Photo: Takata

We have already covered the massive recall caused by the defective airbags manufactured by Takata, but it seems the problem is even worse than we initially thought. This morning, General Motors (which has installed Takata airbags in the 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe and Saab 9-2X) sent warning letters to the owners of affected vehicles, asking them not to let anyone ride in the front passenger seat until the airbags are replaced.

GM is far from the only manufacturer with this problem: 14 manufacturers had contracts with Takata to supply airbags, including BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.

Under certain conditions, the inflator may be defective, and may over-inflate the airbag and break the deployment mechanism, sending metal shrapnel into the face of the occupants. This can be deadly to a vehicle's passengers (a Florida woman was found dead in her car after a head-on crash. Since she had deep cuts on her neck, the police first assumed she was murdered, before determining that metal parts flew out of her airbags and killed her).

Manufacturers are concentrating their efforts on the southern United States, as it seems as though high humidity is the leading cause of the airbag failures. We (Canada) are currently not touched, but there is no doubt that owners of cars equipped with Takata airbags would be reassured if the parts were changed as soon as possible.

Here is a list of all affected vehicles:

BMW: 627,615 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 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 potentially affected vehicles

2004 – Ranger

2005 – 2006 GT

2005 – 2007 Mustang

General Motors: undetermined number of potentially affected vehicles

2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe

2005 – Saab 9-2X

Honda: 5,051,364 potentially affected vehicles

2001 – 2007 Honda Accord

2001 – 2002 Honda Accord

2001 – 2005 Honda Civic

2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V

2003 – 2011 Honda Element23

2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey

2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot

2006 – Honda Ridgeline

2003 – 2006 Acura MDX

2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL

2005 – Acura RL

Nissan: 694,626 potentially affected vehicles

2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima

2001 – 2003 Nissan Pathfinder

2002 – 2003 Nissan Sentra

2001 – 2003 Infiniti I30/I35

2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4

2003 – Infiniti FX

Mazda: 64,872 potentially affected vehicles

2003 – 2007 Mazda6

2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6

2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8

2004 – 2005 MPV

2004 – B-Series Truck

Mitsubishi: 11,985 potentially affected vehicles

2004 – 2005 Lancer

2006 – 2007 Raider

Nissan: 694,626 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 potentially affected vehicles

2003 – 2005 Baja

2003 – 2005 Legacy

2003 – 2005 Outback

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

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