Takata Airbags Are Still Killing People

Image: Joe Skipper (Reuters)

The death toll related to faulty Takata-built airbags continues to grow as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms a 28th related fatality. On Tuesday the agency reported yet another air bag inflator death in a saga that has been ongoing since 2009, this one involving a Honda which crashed in Alabama back in 2018. The airbags have been shown to shoot shrapnel at vehicle occupants, prompting the largest automotive recall in American history. Across the last decade over 100 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide.

According to NHTSA, “minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries.”

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Honda told Reuters on Tuesday that it had confirmed 20 Takata related deaths in Honda and Acura vehicles since the investigation began. A company representative also confirmed that fewer than five percent of the recalled Takata bags are still unaccounted for, though it “remains committed to replacing or accounting for all that remain.” Nissan recently told owners of its older vehicles to stop driving them, as did Toyota, and everyone with a 2003 Dodge Ram was warned to immediately discontinue driving them until the recall could be affected.

Nearly every automaker is affected by the recall, as the difficulty seems to be found in the propellant that Takata used for its airbags post 2009. This chemical can break down after long-term exposure to temperature fluctuation and humidity. Instead of releasing to fill the airbag, the container explodes, delivering metal shrapnel into the unsuspecting face and body of the occupants in range. In addition to these 28 deaths, hundreds more have been injured.

If I had a vehicle with a Takata recalled airbag, I would personally rather take the risk of driving without one altogether than hope it wouldn’t spray metal at me during a car crash.