Since the beginning of 2014, an unprecedented and alarming number of vehicles have been recalled. According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 55 million cars and trucks have been identified as having a critical defect.
“At GreatFlorida Insurance, we are encouraging all car owners to get online to see if there have been any recalls on their vehicle. You might have checked your car a couple of months ago but the government and automakers are almost daily adding cars to the list of recalls.”
“It is in you and your family’s best interest to stay on top of the latest information, it could really be a matter of life and death,” urges Dustyn Shroff, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance.
Just this week, the NHTSA released a consumer advisory adding 7.8 million more vehicles with faulty airbags to the list. They are advising those car owners who have received a recall notice to “act immediately” and get their vehicles fixed.
Airbags are rupturing and spewing metal shrapnel into drivers and passengers. High humidity seems to amplify the problem. This flaw has caused three deaths including a woman from Florida and dozens of injuries.
Responsible for the recall is Takata, a Japanese auto part maker that supplies to multiple automakers globally. Ford and Nissan believe software is to blame for their air bag deployment issues while GM thinks the problem is a result of an electrical problem with the sensors connected to their faulty ignition problems.
Other carmakers with airbag deployment recalls include Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Toyota, and BMW. The problems extend to cars that have been on the road since 2000.
The influx of vehicle recalls has been made since Toyota was ordered to pay $1.2 billion in March, the largest criminal penalty for any automaker in the U.S.
Cars have been recalled for a number of issues such as electrical shorts, damaged gears, coolant pump, faulty alternator, poor tire tread, parking brakes, hood latches, stalled engine and faulty ignition switches.
To find out if your car has been included in a recall, use the following link and have your vehicle identification number available. Information specifically regarding recalls for Takata airbags has been experiencing temporary outages, so check the list below.
http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Owners/vin-lookup-sites
Takata Airbag Recalls
BMW: 627,615 vehicles
- 2000-05 3-series sedan
- 2000-06 3-series coupe
- 2000-05 3-series sports wagon
- 2000-06 3-series convertible
- 2001-06 M3 coupe
- 2001-06 M3 convertible
Chrysler: 371,309 vehicles
- 2003-08 Dodge Ram 1500
- 2005-08 Dodge Ram 2500
- 2006-08 Dodge Ram 3500
- 2006-08 Dodge Ram 4500
- 2008 Dodge Ram 5500
- 2005-08 Dodge Durango
- 2005-08 Dodge Dakota
- 2005-08 Chrysler 300
- 2007-08 Chrysler Aspen
Ford: 58,669 vehicles
- 2004 Ranger
- 2005-06 GT
- 2005-07 Mustang
General Motors: Undetermined total number vehicles
- 2003-05 Pontiac Vibe
- 2005 Saab 9-2X
Honda: 5,051,364 vehicles
- 2001-07 Honda Accord
- 2001-05 Honda Civic
- 2002-06 Honda CR-V
- 2003-11 Honda Element
- 2002-04 Honda Odyssey
- 2003-07 Honda Pilot
- 2006 Honda Ridgeline
- 2003-06 Acura MDX
- 2002-03 Acura TL/CL
- 2005 Acura RL
Mazda: 64,872 vehicles
- 2003-07 Mazda6
- 2006-07 MazdaSpeed6
- 2004-08 Mazda RX-8
- 2004-05 MPV
- 2004 B-series truck
Mitsubishi: 11,985 vehicles
- 2004-05 Lancer
- 2006-07 Raider
Nissan: 694,626 vehicles
- 2001-03 Nissan Maxima
- 2001-04 Nissan Pathfinder
- 2002-04 Nissan Sentra
- 2001-04 Infiniti I30/I35
- 2002-03 Infiniti QX4
- 2003-05 Infiniti FX
Subaru: 17,516 vehicles
- 2003-05 Baja
- 2003-05 Legacy
- 2003-05 Outback
- 2003-05 Baja
- 2004-05 Impreza
Toyota: 877,000 vehicles
- 2002-05 Lexus SC
- 2002-05 Toyota Corolla
- 2003-05 Toyota Corolla Matrix
- 2002-05 Toyota Sequoia
- 2003-05 Toyota Tundra