The driver of a Honda Civic may be the most recent victim of exploding airbags. Meanwhile, the recall of those airbags may be delayed by defective replacement parts.

A Louisiana woman who died in an April 2015 crash could be the seventh fatality associated allegedly caused by the defective Takata airbags. The 2005 Honda Civic’s driver-side airbag exploded after the car struck a utility pole, hurling shrapnel that severed the woman’s carotid artery.

Both National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officials and Honda representatives say her death was likely connected to the exploding airbag. Her family has filed a defective airbag lawsuit in a federal court.

Most defective airbag lawsuits already filed are now being handled by a federal court in Miami. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated dozens of Takata defective airbag lawsuits in February.

Plaintiffs allege the car and car part manufacturers were aware of the defective airbags but withheld information about the defects from the public. Many plaintiffs are seeking economic damages based on the lost resale value of the cars. At least 10 plaintiffs are also seeking compensation for personal injuries resulting from the exploding airbags.

The Takata Airbag Lawsuit MDL is MDL No. 2599, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida,

The Massive Takata Airbag Recall

This airbag recall is one of the largest product recalls in U.S. history. It applies to cars made by Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac, Saab, Subaru, and Toyota.

It covers about 13 percent of cars currently on the road in the United States, and it could affect as many as 34 million vehicle owners when all is said and done. That number keeps increasing as Takata continues to add potentially defective air bags to the recall list.

Some replacement parts now being installed in cars as part of the recall may themselves need to be replaced, according to a top-ranking federal regulatory official.

Mark Rosekind, the head of the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, told a House subcommittee that air bag inflators already installed in 2 million vehicles as part of the recall may not last for the life of the car, necessitating additional repairs or replacements down the road.

The original problem that necessitated the recall is in the defective airbags’ inflators, which can break and discharge shrapnel into the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the exploding airbags have been linked to hundreds of injuries and at least six deaths.

The recall affects more than 50 car models from 2000 and 2011, including the following:

• Acura – MDX / TL / CL / RL
• BMW – 3 Series Sedan / Coupe / Convertible / Wagon, M3 Coupe / Convertible
• Chrysler – 300, Aspen
• Dodge – Ram 1500 / 2500 / 3500/ 4500 / 5500, Durango, Dakota
• Ford – GT, Mustang, Ranger
• Honda – Accord, Civic, CRV, Element, Odyssey, Pilot
• Infiniti – I30, I35, QX4, FX35, FX45
• Lexus – SC
• Mazda – 6, Speed 6, RX, 8, MPV, B Series Truck
• Mitsubishi – Lancer, Raider
• Nissan – Maxima, Pathfinder, Sentra
• Pontiac – Vibe
• Saab – 9-2X
• Subaru – Baja, Legacy, Outback, Impreza
• Toyota – Corolla, Sequoia, Tundra

In addition, the NHTSA says Daimler AG plans to recall around 40,000 Sprinter vans from model years 2006 through 2008. Rosekind told the committee that because the recall is so huge, replacement parts may not be readily available.

Rosekind encouraged the committee to support the proposed Grow America Act, which includes a provision for new funding for the NTHSA and would raise the maximum penalty the agency could levy against car manufacturers and parts manufacturers to $300 million. That penalty is currently capped at $35 million.

Complicating the recall is the fact that both driver side and passenger side airbags are affected, requiring two different sets of replacement parts and potentially two separate trips to the dealer for any one car owner.