NHTSA Pushes Automakers to Make Takata Air Bag Repair Plans Public

Topics:  Takata

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
13 July 2018

Agency urges consumers to act quickly to repair defective air bags

Washington, DC

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced today that it has urged automakers affected by the Takata air bag recall to make publicly available on their websites their plans for replacing all defective bags in their vehicles.

“It is imperative that manufacturers take every available step to reach each and every owner of a vehicle with deadly air bags, and take action to ensure that those dangerous air bags are replaced as soon as is safely possible,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi King. “Public plans will be a resource to communities and to individual consumers to support effective recall implementation nationwide.”   

Deputy Administrator King has met with affected automakers and urged each to accelerate their remedy of defective Takata air bags. She asked that the plans include innovative methodologies for maximizing recall completion rates.

“To keep consumers safe in their cars and trucks, automakers should learn from their recall experiences to-date and from one another, and innovate broadly and creatively when crafting plans to better engage with consumers and communities to replace every last defective air bag in their vehicles,” said King.

In cooperation with the Independent Monitor of Takata and the Coordinated Remedy Program, NHTSA has engaged in direct consumer outreach and coalition building in key high-risk areas. In 2017, NHTSA launched a geo-targeted campaign in the eight highest risk areas to increase public awareness in those locations about these dangerous air bags. NHTSA continuously monitors repair rates for vehicles affected by the Takata air bag recalls and posts that information on its dedicated Takata Recall Spotlight website to keep consumers informed on the current status of the recalls. NHTSA also added improved search functions to its website. Consumers can view Takata air bag repair rates by priority group and repair rates over time for each affected vehicle manufacturer. The agency also regularly informs the public about the recall through its social media channels of Facebook and Twitter.

The safety agency will continue its consumer outreach efforts in support of the Takata Independent Monitor’s localized Operation Find and Fix repair pilot programs in high-risk communities. The pilots will take place through the fall. Vehicles in these high-risk regions have been prioritized to get repair parts first.

The Takata air bag recall is the largest and most complex vehicle recall in U.S. history, involving 19 vehicle manufacturers, an estimated 37 million U.S. vehicles, and approximately 50 million air bags. NHTSA urges all drivers to stay informed and safe by taking the following five actions:

1. Visit NHTSA.gov/recalls to find out if your car or truck is under recall. Search using your VIN. Your search result will tell you if your car or truck is included in this or any other safety recall at this time. Vehicles scheduled for future recalls will not show up in this search, so it is important that you check regularly, at least twice per year.
2. If your vehicle does have a recall, call your local dealer to schedule the free repair. Just remember that in the Takata air bag recalls, there are priority groups; parts are only available for certain vehicles starting on certain dates.
3. Sign up at NHTSA.gov/Alerts to be notified by e-mail if your vehicle is affected by a future recall.
4. Get answers to frequently asked questions at NHTSA.gov/takata.
5. Help spread the word: Share NHTSA’s consumer fact sheet and video with friends and family.

Stay connected with NHTSA: Search for open recalls with NHTSA.gov/Recalls | Receive recall alerts by e-mail | Visit us on Facebook.com/NHTSA | Follow us on Twitter.com/NHTSAgov and Instagram.com/NHTSAgov | Watch 5-Star Safety Ratings crash tests on YouTube.com/SaferCarTV | Watch safety videos on YouTube.com/USDOTNHTSA.