NHTSA RECALLS

6 million vehicles still contain recalled Takata air bags: How to see if your car is affected

Emily DeLetter
USA TODAY

Data shows there are over 6 million U.S. vehicles that still have Takata airbags, a decade after millions of the airbags were under a mandated recall due to a risk of injury and death.

In a report released Wednesday, Carfax says its vehicle history data shows 6.4 million vehicles still contain Takata airbags. Of those, more than 2.5 million, or 40%, are located in states that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls Zone A, which are states that "pose the highest threat to safety" because of their high heat and humidity.

Those states are: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

The NHTSA's Takata page lists the current number of unrepaired Takata air bags as 6,171,267. More than 45 million air bags have been repaired, NHTSA data shows.

Carfax also says 14 states each have 150,000 or more unfixed vehicles with Takata airbags. Those states are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

Tens of millions of vehicles with Takata airbags are under recall, according to the NHTSA, which said long-term exposure to high heat and humidity can cause these air bags to explode when deployed, which have caused injuries and deaths.

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A deployed airbag is seen in a 2001 Honda Accord at the LKQ Pick Your Part salvage yard on May 22, 2015 in Medley, Florida. The largest automotive recall in history centers around the defective Takata Corp. air bags that are found in millions of vehicles that are manufactured by BMW, Chrysler, Daimler Trucks, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.

Nissan issues 'do not drive' warning to vehicles with Takata airbags

On Wednesday, Nissan issued a "do not drive" warning to owners of over 80,000 older vehicles for a defect with Takata air bag inflators, reporting that one person has died and 58 others injured after air bag inflator-related ruptures, according to Director of Product Communications at Nissan, Dominic Vizor.

Certain vehicles in the following models and years are affected by the "do not drive" warning:

  • 2002-2006 Nissan Sentra
  • 2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder
  • 2002-2003 Infiniti QX4 

In total, 83,920 Nissan vehicles are affected by the notice.

How to check for a Takata airbag in your car

The NHTSA says approximately 76 million Takata airbags have been recalled because they can explode when deployed, causing serious injury or death. Here's how to check if your car has one: