Why Illinois drivers can't replace faulty air bags
Dear car owner:
If your passenger air bag deploys, there is a chance metal fragments could fly out causing injury or death. As of now, we don't have replacement air bags for your location. In the interim, please don't drive the car with an occupant in the passenger seat. Sincerely, your car manufacturer.
That was the gist of the letter myriad Corolla owners in Illinois, including me, received from Toyota.
And we're not alone. Millions of Honda, Ford, GM, BMW, Acura, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan and Chrysler vehicles are being recalled because of fatal flaws in driver and front passenger air bags manufactured by Japanese-based supplier Takata that are linked with eight deaths and 100 injuries.
But in this case, there's no safety in numbers. Yes, the odds of being hit with shrapnel if the air bag explodes are minuscule, but who wants to take the risk?
The situation “is just crazy,” said congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, an Evanston Democrat who has taken Takata to the woodshed during recent House hearings. “That is ridiculous. It's not a solution.”
As a result of a consent order reached in May between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Takata, automakers are recalling about 34 million vehicles and installing replacement air bags. First in line are states prone to humidity such as Florida.
Air bag fatalities have occurred in Oklahoma, Virginia, California, Florida, Texas and Louisiana, plus one overseas in Malaysia.
“Our testing ... continues to show that exposure over a period of many years to a climate of persistent heat and high absolute humidity are the primary factors in the small number of inflaters that have malfunctioned,” Takata spokesman Jared Levy said.
Another culprit could be the chemical — ammonium nitrate — Takata uses to inflate air bags. Normally, chemicals housed in a small metal container ignite when a crash occurs, causing a reaction that inflates the air bag. The danger occurs when the chemical reaction is too intense and the containers explode, projecting metal pieces.
But so far, “no one has conclusively identified the root cause,” Toyota spokeswoman Cindy Knight explained.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was not aware of any Takata air bag injuries in Illinois.
The federal agency is coordinating with Takata and automakers to fix the “greatest risks first,” agency spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said.
“We hope by the fall to be able to estimate how long it will take to replace all of the 34 million defective Takata inflaters, but given the size and complexity of the recall, that is likely to take some time.”
So what can affected car owners in Illinois do in the meantime? Wait.
Adding to the problem is that with so many recalls, the likelihood of a loaner car is slim, although you should ask your dealer, experts say.
Oh, and when your new air bag is installed, there's a 30 percent to 50 percent chance it will be a replacement made by Takata that uses ammonium nitrate.
Takata is supplying half its air bags using manufacturers TRW, Daicel and Autoliv, who don't use ammonium nitrate, and will up that number to 70 percent by 2016. Asked how to discern what type of air bag I would get as a replacement, no one could answer.
“We are confident that our new air bags are safe,” Levy said. The company continues to improve its quality procedures and hired outside analysts to review its practices, he added.
“In some cases, because newly designed replacement inflaters are not yet available, vehicle owners may receive an interim remedy,” Trowbridge said. “Given the role that age appears to play in the risk of inflater rupture, we strongly encourage owners to bring their vehicle in for a replacement remedy, even if it may mean another trip to the dealer for a final remedy, because doing so is important for their safety.”
Schakowsky is pushing HR 1181, the Vehicle Safety Improvement Act, that would give more funding for auto safety to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as greater authority in cases of “imminent hazard.”
You can look up recall information using your VIN number on the agency website at www.safercar.gov. And don't forget, recall work should come completely free.
Air bags have saved 37,000 lives between 1986 and 2012, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while Takata estimates there are fewer than nine failures out of every 100,000 deployments.
What do you think? Drop me an email at mpyke@dailyherald.com.
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