Advertisement

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan and GM all affected by defective airbag recall

At last three people have died from faulty airbags that shoot shrapnel into drivers' chest, neck and face.

By Matt Bradwell

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Nearly 5 million vehicles made by a wide sampling of top automakers are being recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after airbags used were found to shoot shrapnel upon deployment.

The airbags, produced by Japanese automotive supplier Takata, were installed in 4.7 million cars sold by Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan and General Motors in America between 2000 and 2004. Worldwide, 14 million vehicles contain the defective and dangerous airbags.

Advertisement

Thus far, Takata's airbags are responsible for at least three deaths, including Orlando resident Hien Tran. When rescuers arrived, they thought Tran had been repeatedly stabbed in the neck in a related but separate incident.

"According to the EMS and firefighters on the scene they stated the driver ... had 2 or 3 deep cuts on the right side of her neck that were not consistent with crash injuries," the crash reported stated, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

"There were no windows broken ... that would cause sharp glass to penetrate a human's body. Therefore, the force of the crash was not significant enough to cause great bodily harm to any occupant in both vehicles."

Advertisement

What actually happened was, "When Ms. Tran crashed her car, the air bag, instead of protecting her, appeared to have exploded and sent shrapnel flying into her neck," according to the New York Times.

Tran never regained consciousness and eventually died on Oct. 2.

The complete list of affected vehicles is as follows:

Toyota: 778,177 vehicles potentially affected

2002 – 2004 Lexus SC 2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla 2003 – 2004 Toyota Corolla Matrix 2002 – 2004 Toyota Sequoia 2003 – 2004 Toyota Tundra 2003 – 2004 Pontiac Vibe

Honda: 2,803,214 vehicles potentially affected

2001 – 2007 Honda Accord (4 cyl) 2001 – 2002 Honda Accord (6 cyl) 2001 – 2005 Honda Civic 2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V 2003 – 2011 Honda Element 2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey 2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot 2006 – Honda Ridgeline 2003 – 2006 Acura MDX 2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL

Nissan: 437,712 vehicles potentially affected

2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima 2001 – 2003 Nissan Pathfinder 2002 – 2003 Nissan Sentra 2001 – 2003 Infiniti I30/I35 2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4 2003 – Infiniti FX

Mazda: 18,050 vehicles potentially affected

2003 – 2004 Mazda6 2004 Mazda RX-8

BMW: 573,935 vehicles potentially affected

2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan 2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe 2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon 2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible 2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe 2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible

Advertisement

General Motors: 133,221 vehicles potentially affected

2002 – 2003 Buick LeSabre 2002 – 2003 Buick Rendezvous 2002 – 2003 Cadillac DeVille 2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer 2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Impala 2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2002 – 2003 Chevrolet Venture 2002 – 2003 GMC Envoy 2002 – 2003 GMC Envoy XL 2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora 2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Bravada 2002 – 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette 2002 – 2003 Pontiac Bonneville 2002 – 2003 Pontiac Montana

Latest Headlines