✹ Shrapnel Spitting Airbags!! Takata Airbag Recall

[Phatmiata]

Takata Airbag Recall: Does Your Car Have One Of These Dangerous, Shrapnel Spitting Airbags?

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2014/08/07/takata.jpg
An employee of Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp holds a sign board of the company's Annual General Meeting at an exit of a station near the venue in Tokyo June 26, 2014. Reuters/Yuya Shino

UPDATE Oct. 21, 2014:

Scroll down for the full searchable list of cars with Takata-airbag related problems that have been identified up to Aug. 7, 2014. NHTSA, the U.S. traffic safety regulator, may have issued updated information since that date including cars not on the list below. In most cases, car owners in the U.S. have already recieved letters in the mail from car companies if their vehicles are included in the massive Takata-related airbag recall. Most of the affected vehicles identified as potentially having this problem are located in the U.S.

Original story begins here:

Takata Corp. (TYO:7312), the Japanese maker of vehicle safety parts used by auto manufacturers, is only now beginning to realize the immense cost it’s going to pay for selling faulty airbags to at least 10 different automakers dating to at least as far back as 2001. These safety bags can rupture when they’re deployed and spray bits of metal into drivers and front-seat passengers, making worse whatever injuries the components were meant to avert.

Investigations are ongoing by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but on Thursday Takata gave the public an idea of how much it’s expected to lose this year in costs linked to fixing the problem. In its first quarter ending June 30 report released Thursday, Takata said it would likely lose a staggering $235 million (24 billion yen) this year; it had previously forecast a gain of $156 million. The company annouced a one-time charge of $470.7 million to cover recall issues.

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2014/08/07/takata.png

U.S. Autos With Potential Airbag Problems
This list is up to date as of Aug. 7, 2014 for Takata-related problems.

ACURA MDX 2005
ACURA MDX 2006
ACURA TL 2002
ACURA TL 2003
ACURA MDX 2003
ACURA MDX 2004
ACURA CL 2002
ACURA CL 2003
ACURA MDX 2005
ACURA RL 2005
ACURA MDX 2003
ACURA MDX 2004
BMW 325XI 2002
BMW 325CI 2003
BMW 325CI 2001
BMW 330CI 2001
BMW 330XI 2001
BMW 325I 2004
BMW 330CI 2003
BMW 330I 2004
BMW 330XI 2003
BMW 330XI 2002
FORD GT 2006
FORD MUSTANG 2005
FORD MUSTANG 2006
FORD MUSTANG 2007
FORD RANGER 2004
FORD GT 2005
HONDA ELEMENT 2011
HONDA ELEMENT 2010
HONDA ELEMENT 2009
HONDA PILOT 2005
HONDA CR-V 2005
HONDA ELEMENT 2008
HONDA ACCORD 2006
HONDA ACCORD 2007
HONDA ELEMENT 2007
HONDA PILOT 2006
HONDA CR-V 2006
HONDA PILOT 2007
HONDA ELEMENT 2006
HONDA CIVIC 2005
HONDA ACCORD 2001
HONDA ELEMENT 2005
HONDA PILOT 2003
HONDA PILOT 2004
HONDA ODYSSEY 2002
HONDA ODYSSEY 2003
HONDA ODYSSEY 2004
HONDA ELEMENT 2003
HONDA ELEMENT 2004
HONDA CR-V 2002
HONDA CR-V 2003
HONDA CR-V 2004
HONDA CIVIC 2001
HONDA CIVIC 2002
HONDA CIVIC 2003
HONDA CIVIC 2004
HONDA RIDGELINE 2006
HONDA ACCORD 2002
HONDA ACCORD 2003
HONDA ACCORD 2004
HONDA ACCORD 2005
HONDA PILOT 2005
HONDA CR-V 2005
HONDA CIVIC 2005
HONDA ELEMENT 2005
HONDA ODYSSEY 2005
HONDA PILOT 2003
HONDA PILOT 2004
HONDA ODYSSEY 2003
HONDA ODYSSEY 2004
HONDA ELEMENT 2003
HONDA ELEMENT 2004
HONDA CR-V 2003
HONDA CR-V 2004
HONDA CIVIC 2003
HONDA CIVIC 2004
HONDA ACCORD 2003
HONDA ACCORD 2004
HONDA ACCORD 2005
INFINITI FX45 2005
INFINITI FX35 2005
INFINITI I35 2004
INFINITI I35 2003
INFINITI FX45 2003
INFINITI FX35 2003
INFINITI FX45 2004
INFINITI FX35 2004
LEXUS SC430 2005
LEXUS SC430 2004
LEXUS SC430 2003
MAZDA (MAZDA6) 2003-2004
MAZDA RX-8 2004
MITSUBISHI LANCER 2005
MITSUBISHI LANCER 2004
NISSAN MAXIMA 2004
NISSAN MAXIMA 2003
NISSAN MAXIMA 2002
NISSAN MAXIMA 2001
NISSAN PATHFINDER 2001
NISSAN SENTRA 2004
NISSAN SENTRA 2003
NISSAN SENTRA 2002
NISSAN SENTRA 2001
NISSAN PATHFINDER 2004
NISSAN PATHFINDER 2003
NISSAN PATHFINDER 2002
PONTIAC VIBE 2005
PONTIAC VIBE 2004
PONTIAC VIBE 2003
SAAB 9-2X 2005
SUBARU OUTBACK 2004
SUBARU BAJA 2004
SUBARU BAJA 2003
SUBARU LEGACY 2004
SUBARU LEGACY 2003
SUBARU IMPREZA 2004
SUBARU OUTBACK 2003
SUBARU IMPREZA 2005
SUBARU BAJA 2005
SUBARU OUTBACK 2004
SUBARU OUTBACK 2005
SUBARU BAJA 2004
SUBARU BAJA 2003
SUBARU LEGACY 2005
SUBARU LEGACY 2004
SUBARU LEGACY 2003
SUBARU IMPREZA 2004
SUBARU OUTBACK 2003
TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX 2005
TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX 2004
TOYOTA COROLLA MATRIX 2003
TOYOTA TUNDRA 2005
TOYOTA TUNDRA 2004
TOYOTA TUNDRA 2003
TOYOTA COROLLA 2005
TOYOTA COROLLA 2004
TOYOTA COROLLA 2003
TOYOTA SEQUOIA 2005
TOYOTA SEQUOIA 2004
TOYOTA SEQUOIA 2003

source; http://www.ibtimes.com/takata-airbag-recall-does-your-car-have-one-these-dangerous-shrapnel-spitting-airbags-1652302

[Phatmiata]

Detectives blame woman's mysterious death on car's air bag

eek after Hien Tran died earlier this month following a mysterious crash, the Orlando woman's family received a recall notice from Honda to replace her 2001 Accord sedan's air bag, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Homicide detectives explained Thursday how after two weeks of investigation they were able to finally attribute stablike wounds in Tran's neck to her car's air bag.

"Those injuries that she sustained were consistent with — quote, unquote — exploding air-bag bags which are related to certain vehicles," said Detective Ben Thorpe, who led a team investigating the death at the request of the Florida Highway Patrol. "It seems to be most consistently with that Honda vehicle."

In late June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that possible safety defects with Takata-brand air bags had prompted vehicle recalls by Honda as well as BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota.

"Today's action is influenced by a NHTSA investigation into six reports of air-bag-inflator ruptures, all of which occurred in Florida and Puerto Rico," the NHTSA stated in a consumer advisory. "Based on the limited data available at this time, NHTSA supports efforts by automakers to address the immediate risk in areas that have consistently hot, humid conditions over extended periods of time."

A June 19 letter from Honda to NHTSA about the Honda and Acura Driver Airbag Inflator Safety Improvement Campaign identifies Takata as the manufacturer of all the Honda models' air bags to be replaced, including the 2001 Honda Accord. In another letter from Honda to the federal agency, the automaker stated: "In the event of an inflator rupture, metal fragments could pass through the air bag cushion material possibly causing injury or fatality to vehicle occupants."

Thorpe said Tran's air bag had several tears from exploding debris.

Honda North America spokesman Chris Martin said Thursday evening that just fewer than 6 million Honda and Acura vehicles had been recalled worldwide to replace their front-seat air bags. And 2.8 million Honda owners in 11 high-humidity states in the U.S. — including some already sent recall notices — have been advised recently to visit a dealership for a free air-bag replacement.

"It's a big industrywide problem now," said Martin, who would not say how much Honda is paying to replace the air bags. "The cost at this point is secondary to us."

On Sept. 29, Tran, 51, was driving home in the rain with $8,000 in cash from her family's Orlando nail salon. Described as a reluctant driver who emigrated two years ago from Vietnam, she avoided busy streets for side roads through neighborhoods on her way to east Orange County.

Weighing 100 pounds and 5 feet tall, she sat with the driver's seat moved all the way forward. A sheriff's crime-scene investigator determined the seat back was 8 inches from the steering wheel, so she was sitting with her chest almost touching the column, according to Thorpe.

Fire Rescue paramedics and an emergency-room doctor were suspicious about the wounds on Tran's neck because she was wearing a seat belt and the windshield was intact.

"According to the EMS and firefighters on the scene they stated the driver … had 2 or 3 deep cuts on the right side of her neck that were not consistent with crash injuries," the crash reported stated. "There were no windows broken … that would cause sharp glass to penetrate a human's body. Therefore, the force of the crash was not significant enough to cause great bodily harm to any occupant in both vehicles."


But Tran's identity remained unknown until shortly before midnight after she was rushed to Florida Hospital East and then transferred in critical condition to Orlando Regional Medical Center, according to interviews. A missing-persons report was filed by Tran's twin sister, Tina, at about 11:30 p.m. with the Orlando Police Department, records show.

Investigators would learn later that an air bag had exploded five years earlier in another Orange County crash and flying debris gashed the driver's neck.

On April 27, 2009, Jennifer Griffin was driving her 2001 Honda Civic when she was struck on Wallace Road near her home in Dr. Phillips and was taken by ambulance to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, a crash report shows.

In an article last month by The New York Times on Honda air-bag injuries, it described how a 2-inch piece of shrapnel hit Griffin's neck, causing heavy bleeding, and that she later reached an undisclosed settlement with the automaker. Griffin, now 32, could not be reached Thursday.

Tran did not recover consciousness after her crash and died Oct. 2 at ORMC.

No debris or shrapnel was found in her neck wounds by doctors who treated Tran first at Florida Hospital East and later at ORMC. Emergency surgery to repair a neck wound that cut Tran's trachea initially made determining the cause of her death more difficult, according to Orange-Osceola Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia.

"It's not the typical injuries you see from an air bag," Garavaglia said. "It's the internal parts of the air bag tearing through that caused the injuries."

She was not surprised rescue workers were initially suspicious about what happened, saying, "It had the appearance of a knife wound, but it was surrounded by abrasions."

The sheriff's Homicide Unit investigates industrial accidents, but this was the detectives' first car crash.

Cpl. Jason McMullen, one of the investigators, mentioned that they noticed right away that Tran did not have any defensive wounds on her hands or arms that are often common in attacks. But the air bag had sheared away the steering column's cruise control and turn signals, spraying the driver's compartment with pieces, he said.

The Medical Examiner's Office lauded the sheriff's investigation for determining Tran's injuries were similar to other crash-related injuries reported across the country.

"The Sheriff's Office also ruled out the possibility of anyone else being in the vehicle or involved with the incident in any way," the medical examiner's report stated. "Their superb effort and assistance was paramount in helping to determine the correct cause and manner of death in this case."

Searching for similar crash-related injuries, Thorpe and a crime-scene investigator both came across a Car & Driver magazine article on widespread recalls over air-bag-related deaths and injuries.

One of the cases Thorpe found involved Gurjit Rathore, 33, a Virginia woman who bled to death in front of her three children after the air bag in her 2001 Honda Accord exploded in what was described as a minor fender bender. A piece of metal stuck in the air-bag fabric left a stablike throat wound, and "the shrapnel actually got pulled out of the victim's neck by the bag deflating," Thorpe said.

Honda paid $3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Rathore's family, according to newspaper accounts.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-hien-tran-honda-accord-airbags-20141017-story.html

[tsingson]

Wow. All my vehicles check out.

[theothersawyer]

My BMW was on the list, but the PO had the recall done like 3 days before I bought it!

[fwdtamiya]

Glad all of my family's cars are safe. :bow:

[atank]

WOW!!!!!!!:shock:

[etikoner]

Reading that article makes me cringe at how MANY people I see driving so damn close to the steering wheel. with their damn seats positioned forward.

Glad none of my family members cars are on this list.

[treeafodo]

Reading that article makes me cringe at how MANY people I see driving so damn close to the steering wheel. with their damn seats positioned forward.
They'd get seriously injured even without the shrapnel. Imagine with it?!

Both of my cars check out as well as my family's.

[kung fu jesus]

That is a LOT of popular models on that list.

[Phatmiata]

I never did like airbags, kinda wanna take the one out of my Mazdaspeed3, but geeez they have so much crap wired into the wheels these days, blue-tooth, radio, cruise, you name it.

[kung fu jesus]

I never did like airbags, kinda wanna take the one out of my Mazdaspeed3, but geeez they have so much crap wired into the wheels these days, blue-tooth, radio, cruise, you name it.


Airbags are better and better. I would leave them in.

[MX5RACER]

My Mazdaspeed 6 was affected by this Recall. I took it last Weds, got my rental and had my car back on Friday. I would not be suprised if more cars are added to list later.

[theothersawyer]

I kind of wish the PO didn't do the recall, just so I could get a nice new BMW as a loaner! Haha

[flooglemop]

Airbags are good in theory, but they've caused a lot of unnecessary harm in many instances. Frankly, I'm not sure the cost of safety is always worth it.

[kung fu jesus]

I have to get the wagon in for the recall.

[theothersawyer]

I need to do the driverside airbag, but I've heard that they have been taking cars off the list since they have no supply. I got a recall notice months ago that said I'd get another when they got the airbags in...never got another letter!

[kung fu jesus]

The PO got the letter the day after I bought it. My wife may be daily driving it now, so I want to be sure she's safe.

[theothersawyer]

Yeah, I've been daily driving mine with a possible shrapnel spitting airbag a foot from my face....Not fun!

[RuckkehrMiata]

I know there is a lot of back and forth over airbags here. The airbags in older cars are meh, but I have to say I am impressed with modern airbags:


http://i.imgur.com/dK5mn1W.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Em2XOXM.jpg

(pics from a wreck outside of my apartment)


The Lexus slammed into this Camaro at around 50mph with no braking (Camaro had the left turn green, drunk Lexus was trying to make a full speed right turn), pushed them from the middle of the intersection all the way over to the far opposite lane. Around 50' of travel

This thing had side air bags, front airbags. The driver and his passenger walked away, without even a scratch from the broken glass. (The driver had leg pains, and they both were rattled to the point of being incapable of meaningful speech - but according to the paramedics no concussion or signs of internal bleeding/scratches, side airbags prevented the driver from being ejected through his own window)

I myself am guilty of pulling my drivers airbag in favor of RACECAR, however seeing some modern airbag tech really makes me start thinking when I see stuff like this.





note: we got the 50mph because the Lexus speedometer was frozen at that, assumed it froze on impact

[flooglemop]

What I don't get are people that insist on having an airbag and yet don't seem to mind riding on a motorcycle, in a bus, or even on a bicycle, none of which provide seatbelts much less airbag protection and are less safe than a non-airbag equipped car.