A Takata airbag recall affecting thousands of Volkswagen and Audi owners is complicated by Takata’s filing for bankruptcy.

Takata’s defective airbags have been blamed for injuries and deaths because the explosion that is supposed to simply deploy the airbag detonates as a more intense blast, shattering the metal inflator and sending metal shards into the vehicle’s inerior.

The airbag inflator is a metal cartridge filled with a propellant. Made to inflate the airbag quickly in the event of an accident, the faulty Takata airbags burst with too much force, causing the metal cartridge to rip apart and send metal pieces at high velocity toward the driver and passenger.

Airbags are supposed to contain an adequate amount of a drying agent that tempers the force of the airbag’s deployment. Takata’s airbags allegedly lack enough of the drying agent. Experts believe high heat and humidity cause the ammonium nitrate propellant to degrade, making the issue worse.

VW, Audi Slow to Announce Takata Airbag Recall

Volkswagen and Audi aren’t the only manufacturers to use parts covered by the Takata airbag recall, but critics say these two automakers were slow to announce the vehicles that were affected by this recall.

Many vehicle manufacturers have helped owners with costs related to the recall. Volkswagen and Audi owners complain the companies have not assisted affected consumers and that they have no plans to help customers with alternate transportation while their vehicles are repaired.

Now that Takata announced bankruptcy on June 25^th, customers affected by the Takata airbag recall could have an even tougher time getting compensation.

Automakers have been covering the cost to replace millions of the recalled airbags, believing Takata would reimburse them. The Associated Press reports that car manufacturers will ultimately shoulder a large portion of the costs of the Takata airbag recall.

More than 100 million inflators are subject to recall, and 69 million of those are in the United States. Vehicles made from 2002 to 2017 could be affected. Less than a third of the affected airbags have been replaced as of April 2017. Not many companies manufacture airbags, and the shortage leaves thousands of dangerous vehicles on the roads.

Takata reached a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in January, and three Takata executives were indicted on wire fraud and conspiracy charges.  Emails showed the three allegedly submitted false reports to automakers in an effort to conceal the potentially deadly problems with the airbags.

Sixteen people are known to have died as a result of the defective airbags. Eleven of those deaths were in the United States.

If you own or lease a vehicle affected by the Takata airbag recall, you could benefit by speaking with an attorney regarding your potential to participate in a class action lawsuit.