Massive airbag recall affects nearly 5 million U.S. vehicles

Faulty airbags may shoot out metal shrapnel in an accident.

By Robert Sorokanich October 20, 2014 / Photos by Getty Images

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is urging owners of over 4.7 million vehicles to check whether they’re affected by a massive recall of defective airbags. The recall, covering 14 brands of cars sold in the U.S. between 2000 and 2011, is particularly focused on southern regions including Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, but anyone who drives a BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, or Toyota vehicle from the affected years should check to see if their car is affected.

The recall affects vehicles equipped with airbags manufactured by Takata, an OEM supplier that’s been part of an ongoing investigation into potentially fatal airbag malfunctions. Takata airbags have been implicated in at least 139 REPORTED injuries, some of them fatal, caused by metal shrapnel being ejected from faulty inflator modules during airbag activation.

According to a New York Times report from last month, Takata and Honda knew about the airbag malfunctions since 2004, but despite small recalls, the automaker never notified the NHTSA about the issue. NHTSA-led action began in earnest in April 2013, when 3.6 million cars from six automakers were recalled. Further recalls occurred in June 2014 for certain Toyotas, expanding to nine automakers in July.

The NHTSA says the problem occurs mainly in warm, humid climates, urging owners of affected vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands to act immediately on recall notices. Still, considering the seriousness of the problem, anyone owning a vehicle listed below should go to the NHTSA’s VIN lookup page to check whether the car in question is affected.

The NHTSA’s full list of vehicles affected by the recall is below:

Toyota: 778,177 total number of vehicles potentially affected

• 2002 – 2004 Lexus SC
• 2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla
• 2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix
• 2002 – 2004 Toyota Sequoia
• 2003 – 2004 Toyota Tundra
• 2003 – 2004 Pontiac Vibe