U.S. Senate Plans to Oversee NHTSA’s Hearing Over Takata Recall List

Millions of cars around the world have been affected by the massive Takata airbag recall. If you believe your car may be affected, you may have cause for legal action.

Check out our investigation page and the Takata recall list to determine if your make and model is one of the cars affected by the Takata recall. 

Recently the U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee that oversees the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has planned to convene a hearing to focus on the status of the Takata recall list that some lawmakers report is taking too long.

On Jan. 8, 2018, Takata Corporation, an airbag manufacturer based in Japan, currently overseeing and involved in the most complex recall process in auto history, announced their plan to expand on a previous recall of 34 million vehicles due to defective airbags that can explode and spontaneously deploy.

The Takata recall list comprises of 34 million vehicles including 3.3 million new makes and models. The vehicles that contain the defective Takata airbags are currently said to degrade over time leading to severe injuries and even death. The defective Takata airbags have since been linked to more than 180 injuries and 20 deaths.

Overview: Takata Recall List

According to Takata, there are plans to recall about 125 million vehicles around the world by 2019. The Takata recall list includes more than 60 million vehicles present in the United States. Manufacturers involved include 19 automakers ranging from makers such as Acura, Audi, BMW, GM, Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford, and GMC among many others.

Injuries and deaths linked to the defective Takata airbags are blamed on the airbag’s tendency to explode with excessive force. Regulators say that the issue with the Takata airbags is associated with the airbag inflator.

This inflator, which is made up of a metal cartridge loaded with a propellant, becomes activated and inflates rapidly with too much force, regulators say. The airbags inflate with so much force that metal cartridge holding the propellant ruptures and causes metal shrapnel to fly throughout a vehicle.

Regulators also report that what is causing the airbag to forcefully deploy also includes insufficient amounts of a necessary drying agent.

This defect has reportedly caused Takata to filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2017. The bankruptcy plan, in a reported deal of $1.6 billion dollars, will have them sell the non-airbag inflator business to Key Safety Systems, part of Ningo Joyson Electric Corp.

The chairman of the subcommittee overseeing the meeting is Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. In a statement, he says that the hearing would look in to, “current manufacturer recall completion rates, the Takata bankruptcy and transition to new ownership under Key Safety Systems, and what all stakeholders including NHTSA are doing to ensure this process continues to move forward.”

According to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., he says that he hopes “we’ll finally get a real plan to improve the still woeful recall completion rates.”

“NHTSA, the independent monitor, and the automakers should all be asked to participate so we can get the numbers moving in the right direction.” He asked the 19 automakers to release information detailing the pace of fixing vehicles in a letter dated Feb. 27.

Were You Affected by the Takata Airbag Defect?

The Takata airbag recall affects over 37 million vehicles sold or leased under dozens of different brands, including:

• Acura
• Audi
• BMW
• Cadillac
• Chevrolet
• Chrysler
• Daimler
• Sprinter
• Sterling Bullet
• Ferrari
• Dodge/Ram
• Fisker
• Ford
• GMC
• Honda
• Infiniti
• Jaguar
• Jeep
• Land Rover
• Lexus
• Lincoln
• Mazda
• McLaren
• Mercedes-Benz
• Mercury
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Pontiac
• Saab
• Saturn
• Scion
• Subaru
• Tesla
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

If you have owned or leased a vehicle under any of the brands above, you may qualify to file your own airbag lawsuit or Takata class action lawsuit.
You can find a full list of makes, models and model years on our Defective Airbag Recall Investigation Page.

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