On Thursday, June 9, Honda announced the expansion of their Takata airbag recalls to include an additional 4.5 million vehicles. To put that in perspective, just this expansion alone totals more vehicles than Honda sold all of last year—and this is only the third-largest recall they have issued in the last year.
According to ABC News, this makes the total number of Honda vehicles recalled to address faulty Takata airbags 24.5 million worldwide. Across the world, 57.5 million vehicles with Takata airbags have been recalled, and 33.8 million of those vehicles were sold in the United States.
This latest batch of Honda recalls includes vehicles made from 2007 to 2011, none of which were sold in the United States or Canada.
At the center of these recalls are defective inflators in airbags made by the Japanese company Takata Corp., which can cause airbags to inflate so forcefully that metal shrapnel is projected throughout a vehicle cabin. This issue has been documented for more than ten years, and has been officially linked to 100 injuries and 8 deaths, though many believe these figures are low.
In many vehicles, both driver- and passenger-side airbags have been recalled. Senior Kelley Blue Book Analyst Karl Brauer told reporters that even if no additional vehicles are recalled it will take at least four years just to make enough inflators to repair affected vehicles. And according to Brauer, it is foolish to assume the recalls are finished. “I see more and more indications every day that all of those are going to need to be recalled versus only a portion,” Brauer said. “It’s just how long before (the propellant) goes bad seems to be the pattern that we’re seeing.”
In the United States, the government has proposed taking over manufacture of replacement airbag inflators to expedite the process, fearing that too many motorists will continue to drive vehicles with recalled airbags while they wait for repairs.
As Takata, the NHTSA, and auto industry experts all attempt to determine what led to the fatal flaws in the airbags, individuals who have suffered serious injury or the loss of a loved one due to a defective Takata airbag are filing personal injury lawsuits in pursuit of compensation for their losses, suffering, and damages. For more information on Takata airbag lawsuits and possible compensation, please contact an experienced auto product liability lawyer today.
