Many car owners are affected by a recent VW airbag recall due to defective airbags made by manufacturer Takata.

Different Volkswagen and Audi car models have a front airbag or passenger airbag made by Takata. Not only are Volkswagen and Audi cars affected by this VW airbag recall, but Takata also makes front and side airbags for 19 different automobile manufacturers.

According to digitaltrends.com, in this VW airbag recall, Volkswagen alone will be recalling 600,000 vehicles, most of them Audis. The Takata recall has been upgraded to affect as many as 42 million cars in the U.S. from all affected manufacturers.

In China and Israel, several incidents were reported in association with the Takata airbags. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expressed concern that if these airbags are not fixed for U.S. cars, there could be fatal events in the United States.

The NHTSA has said that Volkswagen and Audi dealerships will be making repairs and replacements on affected cars free of charge.

Many of the automobiles affected by the VW airbag recall include Audi A5s made from 2011 to 2017. These vehicles, digitaltrends.com reports, have corrosion problems that affect the deployment of airbags.

According to Consumer Reports, the NHTSA is calling the Takata recall the “largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history.” The airbags may deploy explosively and injure or kill drivers or passengers of cars.

Airbags have a component called an inflator. This is a metal cartridge that has propellant wafers that have the potential to ignite explosively. If this occurs during a crash, metal pieces from this inflator can explode into the interior of the car, injuring or killing the occupant.

The NHTSA says that the airbags affected in the VW airbag recall use an ammonium nitrite-based propellant that does not have a chemical drying agent.

There are factors that some believe can change the effectiveness of these airbags. Moisture from the environment, the age of the airbag or high temperatures may cause these airbags to deploy explosively. Consumer Reports notes that as of March 2017, there have been 180 injuries and 11 fatalities because of the VW airbag recall.

In March 2017, Takata pleaded guilty in federal court to deceiving car manufacturers regarding the fact that their airbags were safe for use in cars. Takata has been ordered to pay $1 billion dollars in penalties to settle criminal charges.

Additionally, a separate lawsuit claims that five automakers knew about the unsafe airbags yet continued to install them in their vehicles.

The problem with this VW airbag recall is the question of why Volkswagen has taken so long to make any progress with affected customers. Many wonder why these deadly airbags in the VW airbag recall weren’t recalled sooner and why the airbag manufacturer did not inform customers in a more timely manner.

If you believe that you may be affected by this VW airbag recall, you may benefit from speaking with an attorney experienced in these matters. You may be entitled to legal compensation.