Largest recall in U.S. history issued over defective airbags.

[Trik'Stari]

Just saw this on google news, it might be car related but I though it might be a good idea to put it on the forums,

just in case anyone owns an effected vehicle and doesn't know it.

 

 

Nearly 34 million cars and trucks nationwide were declared defective Tuesday because of deadly air bags made by auto-parts giant Takata, in what is expected to be the biggest recall of any consumer product in U.S. history.

 

The expanded recall doubled the number of vehicles believed to have the air bags, which can blast out sharp metal shrapnel when deployed, a flaw that has been linked to six deaths and more than 100 injuries.

 

The nationwide recall effort is expected to be a logistical nightmare for the auto industry, costing billions of dollars and potentially overwhelming automakers, parts suppliers and dealerships already struggling to find enough safe replacement parts.

 

Seems fairly serious, everyone should make sure to check their vehicles when the time comes.

 

 

It could be days before vehicle owners hear from automakers about whether their models are covered by the recall, officials said, and analysts expect that it could take years for all the defective cars to get the needed repairs.

 

In the meantime, millions who drive some of the most popular models from BMW, Ford, Honda, Toyota and other carmakers could remain behind the wheel with a defect that lawmakers have deemed a “public safety threat.”

 

There appears to be a lot more going on, but I'm not going to quote everything. Honda appears to have taken a pro-active approach to it.

 

 

Automakers such as Honda, believed to be the worst affected, have signed deals with other suppliers and manufacturers, including Autoliv and TRW Automotive, for replacement parts. Even so, some automakers were telling drivers that it could be months before their cars are repaired.

 

“A recall of this scope illustrates the potential for massive automaker expense and consumer inconvenience when a common, mass-produced part is defective,” said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

 

“Ironically, the use of common parts across markets and manufacturers is meant to save money, yet a recall of this size will cost the industry billions.”

On top of its standard first-class recall mailers and more than 1 million phone calls to owners, Honda has told its dealerships to check vehicles’ identification numbers during every visit and to offer free rental cars during repairs, Bruce Smith, American Honda Motor’s senior vice president, said last month at a NHTSA recall workshop.

 

Honda workers have been scouring salvage yards, collecting more than 20,000 defective inflators to prevent them from being used in repairs, Smith said. The carmaker has also enlisted an investigative firm in hopes of finding hard-to-reach owners of older vehicles with the recalled part.

 

This sounds pretty serious, considering that both my parents have relatively new vehicles, I'm going to make sure their vehicles aren't effected.

 

 

 

Thoughts?

 

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2015/05/19/0529d9ac-fe52-11e4-805c-c3f407e5a9e9_story.html(sorry, brainfart)

*Updated information*

 

Federal officials said years of humid weather, along with other factors, could cause the propellant in driver- and passenger-side air-bag inflators to burn hotter than it should, leading to shard-blasting ruptures that Takata blamed on “over-aggressive combustion.”

 

 

 

As @kurahk7 pointed out, you can check your if your vehicle is included in this recall here: https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/

[terrytek]

Just honda? or other brands, particularly japanese?

[thekeemo]

damit companies stop using takata this is like the 900000th time

[Guest Kloaked]

sauce?

[Enderman]

I think that if you get killed by the airbag, you should have probably died in the accident anyway. Someone up there really wants to see you urgently.

[Trik'Stari]

Just honda? or other brands, particularly japanese?

BMW, Honda, Ford, Toyota, and possibly others. I would check if any of those companies own the manufacturer of your vehicle. I will be checking on my mom's Nissan because Ford owns Nissan (last I checked)

 

sauce?

 

Thanks for reminding me. Major brainfart

[SteveGrabowski0]

I hate airbags. We're forced to pay for these things because stubborn drivers kept refusing to wear seatbelts and thus kept dying in car wrecks. 

[UltraNeonGaming]

This is not tech news...
But it's something very serious.

[Sharkyx1]

I hate airbags. We're forced to pay for these things because stubborn drivers kept refusing to wear seatbelts and thus kept dying in car wrecks. 

That's kind of rediculous, airbags are supposed to work with seatbelts, they basically scramble you if you aren't wearing one

[Guest Kloaked]

This is not tech news...

But it's something very serious.

 

It's very much tech news.

[Trik'Stari]

This is not tech news...

But it's something very serious.

It sort of is. Cars and airbags ARE technology. This isn't really all that different than any news about Tesla or Google's latest automotive creation.

 

That's kind of rediculous, airbags are supposed to work with seatbelts, they basically scramble you if you aren't wearing one

 

I was wearing a seatbelt during my head-on collision, I received very little bruising from the seatbelt, and didn't even touch the air bag (GODDAMN do they deploy fast), mainly because I had a split second to see the accident coming and braced myself against it. Also, relatively low speeds (me maybe going 45 mph, the other guy going maybe 35 mph).

 

I still got a chemical burn on my knees from the powder of the airbags (make sure to have EMS hose you off quickly, as mine didn't think anything of it, looked it up later, turned out they're supposed to do that because of chemical burns)

 

It wasn't severe, as in didn't cause any pain, my knees where just discolored for a bit and the skin felt....odd.

[terrytek]

BMW, Honda, Ford, Toyota, and possibly others. I would check if any of those companies own the manufacturer of your vehicle. I will be checking on my mom's Nissan because Ford owns Nissan (last I checked)

 

 

Thanks for reminding me. Major brainfart

I have a feeling both my mazdas and my corolla are affected, though the mazdas are at least 10 years old.

[terrytek]

It sort of is. Cars and airbags ARE technology. This isn't really all that different than any news about Tesla or Google's latest automotive creation.

 

 

I was wearing a seatbelt during my head-on collision, I received very little bruising from the seatbelt, and didn't even touch the air bag (GODDAMN do they deploy fast), mainly because I had a split second to see the accident coming and braced myself against it. Also, relatively low speeds (me maybe going 45 mph, the other guy going maybe 35 mph).

 

I still got a chemical burn on my knees from the powder of the airbags (make sure to have EMS hose you off quickly, as mine didn't think anything of it, looked it up later, turned out they're supposed to do that because of chemical burns)

 

It wasn't severe, as in didn't cause any pain, my knees where just discolored for a bit and the skin felt....odd.

I'm assuming it was when your 3000GT got tboned?

[Trik'Stari]

I have a feeling both my mazdas and my corolla are affected, though the mazdas are at least 10 years old.

That would be interesting to find out. My 3000gt was a 1995 and I crashed it in... I think 2012? (hard to remember, blocked it out, major emotional loss for me because it was my first car and I absolutely loved it) and I didn't get any of that. and once again,

 

 

Goddamn do airbags deploy fast, all of a sudden there was just this giant white thing in my face, I've never really seen anything happen that quickly.

 

I'm assuming it was when your 3000GT got tboned?

 

Head on at a slight angle. One of those weird intersections where the opposing lane had to "merge" across my lane to get on the other street.

 

Kind of like this. I was going along the straight road.

[Mew]

The source also includes a link to check it your car had a recall (requires vin). https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/

My Lexus doesn't have any recalls, but the site recommends checking back periodically as it gets updated and manufacturers collect the vin that are affected.

[Trik'Stari]

The source also includes a link to check it your car had a recall (requires vin). https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/

My Lexus doesn't have any recalls, but the site recommends checking back periodically as it gets updated and manufacturers collect the vin that are affected.

Thanks for posting that, didn't see it. Will add it to the original post with proper accreditation.

[spartaman64]

and i just got in the mail today a letter saying some people are suing Mercedes for using materials that causes the engine to wear out faster and my mercedes might be affected.  

[RazeG3SG1]

I hate airbags. We're forced to pay for these things because stubborn drivers kept refusing to wear seatbelts and thus kept dying in car wrecks.

You'll learn when your head bangs onto the steering wheel.

[Guest Kloaked]

You'll learn when your head bangs onto the steering wheel.

 

But if I hit a deer and I hit my skull on my steering wheel, it's someone else's fault! Sue the deer!

[Trik'Stari]

and i just got in the mail today a letter saying some people are suing Mercedes for using materials that causes the engine to wear out faster and my mercedes might be affected.  

Might be worth checking out. Might only get a hundred bucks out of it, might get nothing, who knows.

 

My mom was apart of a class action against Capital One, her and a bunch of other employee's that got laid off with nothing to show for it after 10+ years working there, she ended up getting $5000 for her trouble. Didn't even have to do anything but sign her name.

[SteveGrabowski0]

You'll learn when your head bangs onto the steering wheel.

 

That's what the shoulder belt is for.

[TroubleKlef]

Weird... before I clicked this thread I said "probably BMW or Toyota". What do you know.

[Guest Kloaked]

That's what the shoulder belt is for.

 

Airbags are also there to protect your face from glass.

[NumLock21]

Some more info on this recall.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/massive-takata-airbag-recall-everything-you-need-to-know-including-full-list-of-affected-vehicles/

[Warcony]

In my opinion the benefits of air bags are no longer greater than the risk they pose to occupants.

Vehicle safety regulations in the vast majority of developed countries actually do NOT require a vehicle to have airbags,but rather set out the hard numbers the vehicle must meet on impact. The US however requires cars to have airbags, and just like with the metric vs imperial system, they prevail.