Takata airbag recall continues to expand

Approximately 34 million vehicles are currently under recall for approximately 46 million defective Takata airbags that can explode when the airbag deploys, causing serious injury or even death.

Despite the danger, many drivers like Fort Myers resident Dan Auer are still waiting for airbag replacements.

“I’m getting frustrated,” Auer said. “I want to use my car.”

Auer first received a recall notification for the airbag on the driver side of his 2007 Ford Mustang in 2015. He later received a second notification that stated the replacement put in the vehicle was faulty.

“Now, I get my third letter about the recall,” Auer said. “This one says ‘Don’t use the passenger seat.'”

Auer says he has been waiting for more than a year for a passenger side airbag replacement.

“Let me trade it in, let me do this, let me do that. They go on ‘No, just don’t drive it.’ That’s my frustration,” Auer said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends drivers waiting on replacements to contact their dealership every month to keep pressure on them.

Additional airbags are scheduled to be recalled by December 2019, bringing the total number of affected air bags to around 65-70 million.

Takata supplied these defective air bags to many vehicle manufacturers for years, creating one of the largest and most complex recalls in U.S. history. NHTSA and vehicle manufacturers urge the public to get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible; the recall repair is free.

LINK: See a full list of airbag recalls from NHTSA