Takata Airbag Recall: Everything You Need to Know
August 13, 2024: Ford issued a rare warning that owners of certain vehicles made between 2004 and 2014 should not drive until they check to see whether their car, truck, or SUV needs to have its potentially deadly Takata airbags replaced. The vehicles include 2004-2011 Ford Ranger; 2005-2014 Ford Mustang; 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ, and Lincoln Zephyr; and 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. If owners still need to have the recall done, Ford technicians will come to your home or work to replace the airbags for free, or they will tow your car to the dealership.
July 10, 2024: BMW is recalling more than 390,000 3 Series sedans and wagons that could have a faulty Takata airbag inflator installed in the steering wheel, including 3 Series sedans (323i, 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi) from model years 2006-2011; 3 Series sedans (335d) from model years 2009-2011; and 3 Series Sportswagons (325xi, 328i, 328xi) from model years 2006-2012. BMW is not aware of any accidents or injuries in the United States that may be related to this issue.
May 29, 2024: A “Do Not Drive” warning is issued for the 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra sedan, 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder SUV, and 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 SUV. NHTSA says that 83,920 Sentras, Pathfinders, and QX4s are still on the road today with dangerous unrepaired airbags. The agency reminds that high humidity, high temperatures, and age can increase the risk.
January 25, 2024: Toyota issued a “Do Not Drive” warning for about 50,000 vehicles, including 2003-2004 Corolla, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrix, and model year 2004-2005 RAV4 due to the age of the vehicle. Toyota advises that owners should not drive these vehicles until the free safety recall work can be performed. The company offers mobile repair, tow service, and transportation assistance to owners. (See NHTSA’s list of “Do Not Drive” vehicles from all brands.)
July 11, 2023: Dodge issued a “Do Not Drive” warning for 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed another Takata rupture fatality, the first due to an exploding passenger-side inflator and the first in these trucks. Among the 385,686 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 trucks recalled in 2015, over 84,000 are unrepaired and still on the road. Owners who have not had the free repair work performed should contact their local Dodge or Ram dealership or call Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge and Ram, at 833-585-0144.
May 4, 2023: BMW issued a “Do Not Drive” warning for approximately 90,000 2000-2006 BMW 3 Series (E46) including M3, 2000-2003 5 Series (E39) including M5, and 2000-2004 X5s (E53) equipped with certain driver’s front airbag inflators manufactured by Takata. These vehicles have already been included in several Takata-related recalls. The automaker explains, “Despite intense customer outreach efforts by BMW since 2016, they remain unrepaired and, as the airbag inflators age further, the risk of serious injury or death increases.” Owners should contact their local BMW dealerships for immediate inspection and repairs.
February 3, 2023: Honda issues a “Do Not Drive” warning for certain 2001-2003 Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Odyssey, and Pilot models Acura TL and CL cars equipped with unrepaired Takata Alpha driver side airbag inflators. If you own one of these vehicles and still have an open Takata airbag recall, do not drive it until this urgent, lifesaving recall has been completed. Replacement parts are available now for free for this recall.
December 30, 2022: Volkswagen is recalling an additional 37,558 Beetle coupes and convertibles from the 2015 through 2016 model years to replace their potentially dangerous Takata driver-side airbags.
December 19, 2022: FCA (aka Stellantis) announces that there has been a third fatality involving one of their recalled vehicles, among 274,000 included in a “don’t drive” population: Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, Challenger and Charger from model years 2005-2010. Owners of these unrepaired vehicles are urged to call 833-585-0144. FCA will then arrange to have them towed, free of charge, to accommodate the free service, which takes less than an hour on average. FCA/Stellantis reports that there were a total of 269 outreach attempts were made to owners of the three involved vehicles. Citing a tragedy with a 2010 Chrysler 300, NHTSA states that there are now five fatalities confirmed in 2022.
December 9, 2022: NHTSA announces that one person died in a crash in a 2002 Honda Accord where the Takata driver’s side air bag inflator ruptured. This brings the total number of confirmed fatalities due to Takata inflator rupture to 23, with four fatalities confirmed in 2022.
September 20, 2021: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration kicks off an engineering investigation into 30 million vehicles built by more than 20 car manufacturers between 2001 and 2019, among them Ford, General Motors, Honda, Stellantis (the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram, and others), and Toyota. The investigation covers vehicles outside the existing recall that already has affected 67 million vehicles.
May 27, 2021: BMW recalls 4,511 3 Series cars from 1999-2001 equipped with Non-Azide Driver airbag Inflators (NADI) manufactured by Takata. These vehicles are equipped with driver-side air bag inflators that were previously inspected, but not replaced under recall numbers 19V-851, 19V852, or 19V-853. The NADI inflator may absorb moisture, causing the inflator to explode or the airbag cushion to underinflate.
April 21, 2021: Another death has been confirmed due to a defective Takata airbag inflator in a 2002 Honda Accord. The tragedy occured on January 9, 2021, in Lancaster County, S.C. This bring the total U.S. fatalities to 19.
Honda says the car involved in this crash had been under recall since April 2011 for replacement of the original Takata driver’s frontal airbag inflator. The automaker says that it made more than 100 attempts to reach owners of this vehicle since June 2011, including mailed notices, phone calls, emails and in-person canvassing visits. Their records indicate that the recall repair was never completed and that the driver killed in this crash was not the registered owner. Honda officials remind that older vehicles, especially 2001-2003 model year vehicles, have a heightened risk of an airbag inflator rupture and pose the greatest safety risk.
Check NHTSA’s website to see if your vehicle has any open recalls.
Feb. 19, 2021: Ford is recalling over 154,000 Ford Ranger pickup trucks, Ford Mustang and GT coupes, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX SUVs, and Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ sedans because they may have had faulty Takata airbag inflators installed during repairs.
In a statement, Ford said that “obsolete” Takata service parts may have remained on the shelves at Ford dealerships even after they should have been disposed of. As a result, dealerships may have installed those faulty airbag inflators as replacements in vehicles whose airbags were stolen or deployed in a crash.
Jan. 20, 2021: NHTSA denied a petition from Ford and Mazda to exempt several models from the recall: 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ; 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX; 2006-2011 Mercury Milan; 2007-2011 Ford Ranger; and 2007-2009 Mazda B-Series pickup trucks. These models represent 3 million vehicles, and they have long been a part of the announced recall action.
Jan. 7, 2021: NHTSA reports that as of January 2021, approximately 67 million inflators are under recall for 19 affected vehicle manufacturers, of which approximately 50 million have been repaired or are otherwise accounted for.
Nov. 25, 2020: GM plans to recall millions of Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac trucks and SUVs to replace faulty Takata airbags. This particular recall comes after a four-year-long battle between GM and NHTSA, in which GM argued that the Takata airbags it installed in certain vehicles did not need to be replaced because they differ substantially from those involved in other Takata-related recalls. However, NHTSA rejected GM’s argument. That means owners of 5.9 million SUVs and trucks in the U.S. from the 2007 through 2014 model years—including the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, and Avalanche, GMC Sierra and Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade—will need to have their passenger side airbags replaced.
Sept. 30, 2020: Honda and NHTSA confirm that a defective Takata driver’s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2002 Honda Civic on Aug. 20, 2020, in Mesa, Ariz. The driver of the vehicle sustained injuries from the ruptured inflator and subsequently died. Honda has now confirmed 15 deaths and more than 200 injuries in the U.S. related to Takata airbag driver’s front inflator ruptures in the field. The vehicle involved in this crash had been under recall since December 2011 for replacement of the original Takata driver’s frontal airbag inflator. The original Takata passenger’s frontal airbag inflator was also included in a June 2014 safety improvement campaign that transitioned into a recall in November 2014. Starting in January 2012, more than 15 mailed recall notices were sent over the course of eight years to registered owners of this vehicle before the August 2020 crash. In addition, Honda made numerous phone calls in an attempt to reach owners of this vehicle and physically visited the address of the current owner, leaving recall information attached to the home’s front door. The driver killed in this crash was not the registered owner of the vehicle.
March 29, 2019: Honda and NHTSA announce that a driver of a 2002 Honda Civic was in a crash on June 8, 2018, in Buckeye, Ariz. The driver was injured by the ruptured airbag inflator and died in a hospital June 11, 2018. The automaker says it is the 14th death in a Honda vehicle related to the Takata airbag inflators; 16 people have been killed because of the airbags in the U.S. The driver was the current owner of the Civic and had purchased the car less than three months before the incident.
Jan. 4, 2019: Ford is recalling 782,384 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles to have their passenger-side front airbag inflators replaced.
Dec. 12, 2018: Toyota says it will install new, non-Takata airbag inflators in select 2003 to 2005 Toyota Corolla small cars, 2002 to 2005 Toyota Sequoia SUVs, 2003 to 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup trucks and 2002 to 2005 Lexus SC cars. A Toyota spokeswoman says that this action is being done a year ahead of schedule because the company has the replacement parts it needs to do the work now.
Oct. 24, 2018: Mazda expanded its airbag recall to add certain 2010 to 2012 CX-7 and 2010 to 2015 CX-9 SUVs, and 2010 to 2013 Mazda6 sedans.
July 17, 2018: Ford’s class-action settlement agreement over Takata airbags promises to give consumers some relief. It’s the seventh such deal cut by the class-action attorneys handling claims against the 19 car companies. The owners of Ford vehicles who agree to the deal will receive free loaner cars while waiting for their Takata repairs, as well as small cash payments for their out-of-pocket expenses.
June 7, 2018: NHTSA has urged Florida car owners to check their vehicle identification number (VIN) to see whether their car is involved and if so, to take action. There is concern that South Florida, in particular, is a high risk area because of the weather and completion rate. “I am deeply concerned over the high number of unrepaired defective airbags in vehicles here in South Florida,” said King. “I cannot stress strongly enough the urgency of this recall—these airbags can be deadly. If your vehicle is under recall, do not delay in getting it to your dealer for a free repair. It could save your life or the life of someone you love.”
March 20, 2018: A Senate report highlights that only six of the 17 automakers involved in the wide-ranging Takata airbag recall have adequate loaner car policies for customers that are waiting for parts to become available. The companies that have the most comprehensive loaner policies with the fewest restrictions are BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota.
Feb. 23, 2018: A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved a plan negotiated by Takata and its creditors to create a trust fund to compensate the victims of exploding airbag inflators. Automakers are giving up some monetary claims against Takata and agreeing to contribute $90 million to $137 million to the trust fund.
Feb. 12, 2018: New advisory raises the number of 2006 Rangers involved to 30,603 in the U.S., NHTSA says. Mazda is expanding its advisory to include 1,955 B-Series pickup trucks from model year 2006, up from the original 160. These vehicles are under a rare stop-driving recall, with federal regulators urging owners to tow them to dealers to have Takata airbag inflators replaced.
Jan. 11, 2018: NHTSA advises owners of 2006 Ford Ranger pickup trucks to stop driving them after the agency confirmed a second Takata airbag-related death involving the specific truck and model year.
Jan. 9, 2018: Takata expanded its already massive recall by an additional 3.3 million airbag inflators over the same concerns that they might explode and spray dangerous metal fragments into the vehicle’s cabin. This was the third of five planned recalls. More vehicles are scheduled to be recalled later.
July 11, 2017: Takata announces recall action will add 2.7 million vehicles from Ford, Mazda, and Nissan that use airbag inflators that contain calcium sulfate, a chemical that serves as a drying agent.
June 26, 2017: Takata files for bankruptcy.
March 2, 2017: Ford recalls 32,000 2016 to 2017 Ford Edge, 2016 to 2017 Lincoln MKX and 2017 Lincoln Continental vehicles to replace the driver frontal airbag module.
Feb. 28, 2017: Takata has finally pleaded guilty to deceiving automakers about the safety of its airbags. Now automakers are disputing charges that they knowingly installed the defective airbags in their cars.
Jan. 12, 2017: Reports of an expected $1 billion penalty against Takata are published, with the expectation that $25 million will be a criminal penalty and $850 million would be paid as restitution to automakers affected by the recall.
Ford expands its recall to 816,000 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicle made in North America, including 654,695 sold in the U.S. Most vehicles were included in prior recall actions, but this move adds the passenger-side airbag inflators.
Toyota also expands its recalls to 543,000 additional vehicles in the U.S., including both Toyota and Lexus brand models, to address front passenger airbags. Notably, this adds the 2012 model year to the recall list for many vehicles.
Dec. 9, 2016: A more aggressive recall schedule was announced by the Department of Transportation, with priority given to the riskiest models.
Oct. 20, 2016: NHTSA confirms the 11th fatality. It occurred in a 2001 Honda Civic, a vehicle that was recalled in 2008. The recall had not been performed on this specific car. Nine of the 11 Takata-related deaths in the U.S. have occurred in Acura and Honda models. Honda reports that there are just under 300,000 affected vehicles that have not been repaired or accounted for. Key lesson: Take recall notices seriously.
July 22, 2016: Mazda announced that it is recalling additional B-Series pickup trucks from the 2007 to 2009 model years. The recall covers passenger airbags.
June 30, 2016: NHTSA announces that certain 2001 to 2003 Honda and Acura models have a much higher risk of ruptures during airbag deployments. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement, “Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.” The affected models are listed below.
June 21, 2016: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announces it will end North American Free Trade Agreement market production of vehicles with nondesiccated ammonium-nitrate Takata airbag inflators by the end of June, with global production to end by mid-September. The 2016 Jeep Wrangler uses this type of inflator in the passenger-side airbag. Customers will be advised of vehicles that are so-equipped, and will be advised that the vehicles will be recalled in the future.
June 14, 2016: Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Volkswagen have all confirmed the new vehicles they are selling that contain Takata’s ammonium-nitrate-based propellant in driver and/or passenger frontal airbag inflators without a chemical drying agent, also known as a desiccant. These vehicles are listed below. Fiat Chrysler has yet to announce which vehicle they are selling with this type of airbag. While none of the models are part of the current recall, they all will have to be recalled by 2018. According to NHTSA, as of May 20, 2016, a total of 8,432,805 airbags have been replaced.
June 2, 2016: Audi, BMW, General Motors, Jaguar/Land Rover, and Mercedes-Benz have added almost 2.5 million more U.S. vehicles to the list of cars with defective Takata airbags.
June 1, 2016: Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Volkswagen confirm in a report from Florida Sen. Bill Nelson that they are selling some new vehicles with airbags that contain Takata’s ammonium nitrate-based propellant in driver and passenger frontal airbag inflators without a chemical drying agent, also known as a desiccant. These vehicles will have to be recalled by 2018.
May 4, 2016: The massive Takata airbag recall is more than doubling in size, with NHTSA announcing that it is expanding the recall to include 35 million to 40 million airbag inflators to be replaced through 2019. This tally is in addition to the 28.8 million airbags already recalled. Thus far, NHTSA shows that 8,168,860 airbags have been replaced.
April 13, 2016: Regulators state that there are 85 million potentially defective, unrecalled Takata airbag inflators that will need to be recalled—unless Takata can prove they are safe. So far, the recall has included 28.8 million airbags in the U.S.
April 7, 2016: A 17-year-old girl from Texas named as the 10th U.S. victim. She was driving a 2002 Honda Civic. Her death is attributed to shrapnel from the exploding airbag striking her neck. NHTSA shows that 7,522,533 airbags have been repaired.
Feb. 12, 2016: NHTSA expands its list of affected models. Thus far, 7,122,510 airbags have been repaired.
Dec. 23, 2015: NHTSA announces another U.S. fatality due to the questionable Takata airbag inflator, underscoring the need for consumer to have their cars repaired as soon as possible. Further, there have been changes to the official list of affected vehicles, which are reflected in this omnibus story.
Nov. 3, 2015: NHTSA imposes a record civil penalty of up to $200 million against Takata. (Of that, $70 million is a cash penalty, with an additional $130 million charge if Takata fails to meet its commitments.) Plus, the government agency requires Takata to phase out the manufacture and sale of inflators that use the risky propellant and recall all Takata ammonium nitrate inflators currently on the road—unless the company can prove they are safe or can show it has determined why its inflators are prone to rupture.
Oct. 9, 2015: Honda releases an update on the Takata airbag recall, stating its progress in reaching out to consumers and its recall repair completion rate.
June 19, 2015: NHTSA and Honda confirm that an eighth fatality was attributable to a Takata airbag rupture, which took place in September 2014 in Los Angeles. The car was identified as a rented 2001 Honda Civic. Honda said the car had been under recall since 2009 but that various owners, including the small rental company in Los Angeles, had failed to have the repairs made.
June 17, 2015: The NHTSA VIN look-up tool is updated to include all affected models. Often, there can be a slight delay between announcements and when data is available.
June 16, 2015: Toyota expands years for recall on previously announced models, adding 1,365,000 vehicles.
June 15, 2015: Honda expands national recall on Honda Accord.
June 15, 2015: NHTSA and Honda confirm that Takata airbag rupture was implicated in a seventh death. The driver of a 2005 Honda Civic was fatally injured following a crash April 5 in Louisiana.
June 4, 2015: Reuters reports that at least 400,000 replaced airbag inflators will need to be recalled and replaced again.
May 29, 2015: Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and General Motors added the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of the impacted vehicles to their recall websites.
May 28, 2015: NHTSA and vehicle manufacturers revealed the additional models included in previous recall announcements.
May 19, 2015: DOT released a statement saying that Takata acknowledges airbag inflators it produced for certain vehicles were faulty. It expanded certain regional recalls to national ones, and included inflators fitted in certain Daimler Trucks in the recalled vehicles. In all, the recall was expanded to a staggering 33.8 million vehicles. That number includes the roughly 17 million vehicles previously recalled by affected automakers.
Feb. 20, 2015: NHTSA fined Takata $14,000 per day for not cooperating fully with the agency’s investigation into the airbag problems.
Jan. 18, 2015: The driver of a 2002 Honda Accord became the fifth person in the U.S. thought to have been killed by an exploding airbag inflator.
Dec. 18, 2014: Ford issued a statement adding 447,310 vehicles to the recall.
Dec. 9, 2014: Honda issued a statement saying it will comply with NHTSA and expand its recall to a national level. This brings the number of affected Honda/Acura vehicles to 5.4 million.
Nov. 18, 2014: NHTSA called for the recalls to be expanded to a national level.
Nov. 7, 2014: The New York Times published a report claiming Takata was aware of dangerous defects with its airbags years before the company filed paperwork with federal regulators.
