Georgia ranks top 10 of states with recalled Takata airbags still on the road
I-Team: NHTSA reports 28th Takata airbag death
The Takata airbags were and are considered potentially dangerous more than 20 years after the largest product recall in U.S. history, but millions are still on the road. The Fox 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle explains why it's still important to listen to this recall notice.
ATLANTA - Takata airbags were first recalled in 2001, but 6.4 million are still in vehicles on the road. Carfax data reveals that 174,000 recalled airbags are in Georgia cars and trucks. This matters because age, heat, and humidity make these airbags more volatile.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported a 28th death. NHTSA said even "minor crashes can result in exploding Takata airbags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries."
Do not drive warnings have been issued for some vehicles that pose a greater risk of an airbag explosion that can kill vehicle occupants. NHTSA said affected vehicles should be repaired immediately.
Dig deeper:
When a vehicle's airbags are deployed metal surrounding the inflator shoot metal shrapnel into the vehicle. More than 400 people have been injured.
What's next:
NHTSA has issued Do Not Drive warnings for 11 different automakers. Certain vehicles from Acura, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Infiniti, Mazda, Nissan, Pontiac, and Toyota are included. Here is the complete list.
What you can do:
It's easy to determine if your car or truck has a recalled Takata airbag. Just have your vehicle identification number handy, or plug in your license plate and state into the NHTSA system here.
If you have a recalled airbag, contact the vehicle's dealer for a free replacement.
The Source: The FOX 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle reported this story out of Atlanta. Carfax, which provides consumers with vehicle history information and data, and NHSTA both contributed to this story.