Unfortunately there are several factors at work that make it difficult to assess how widespread the problem really is. Takata has admitted to maufacturing problems at two different facilities. Plus there’s the humidity issue in the cases where vehicles are based in high-humidity states. Then there’s the “impossible to inspect” factor without removing and dissecting every inflator.
After the GM ignition switch debacle, everyone now feels cornered into erring on the safe side: massive recall. Darned if you do, darned if you don’t. And no one wants to be blamed for decapitating people. Not good press.
There’s a new formula for handling recalls since Toyota was fined $1.4billion by the US government for the unintended acceleration issue. As we become more used to the new paradigm, enthusiasm will wane.
I can understand why dealers cannot offer loaner cars for cars ten years old. They’d empty the used car lot if they did. They’ll gladly give you a ride home and pick you up but I think a free loaner is a little much.
Check This Out:
As Cars Become More & More Sophisticated (Complicated) And Safety Becomes More & More An Issue, Recalls Are Becoming Larger, More Frequent, And More Costly. Add To That A Current Government Run By Folks Who Are Not What I Consider “Business/Profit Friendly” (Being Polite, Here) And We’ve Got A Mess.
My opinion on the GM key BS is a giant over-reaction, but to GM’s credit they were able to make lemonade out of lemons (no pun intended - Disclaimer: I own and love many GM vehicles).
I guess as these millions of GM customers return to the dealer to have a plastic plug stuck in their key and a 5-cent key ring thrown in with instructions on how not to hang a bowling ball and bowling shoes from the ignition keys, friendly, skilled salespeople are ready and waiting to pounce on the best “showroom traffic” crowd they had only dreamed of prior to the recall. Sales are booming while the sales staff is dreaming of an even better recall.
I’ve got some GM cars waiting to get their keys modified. I’ve read the recall notices carefully. I’m in no hurry to have the recalls done, if I ever do and I’m a cautious conservative with bones that are getting older and more delicate with each passing day hour.
Manufacturers of products can’t reasonably give life-time warranties. And this comment comes from a guy who drives his cars “forever.” I still drive my purchased new 1996 Dodge Caravan, regularly. CSA
I got a recall on my G6 to put some dialectric grease on the body control connection for the brake lights. Then I got a letter giving me two months again of Sirrius radio. I’ve got it in the other car but won’t pay the exorbitant rates for the second one, but I’m enjoying the two free months anyway.
Thing is though, nothing is free. We end up indirectly paying for all this non-sense sooner or later.
Bing, Exactly.
That’s What I Meant When I Was Talking About Car Manufacturers Basically Being Required To Provide Life-Time Warranty Coverage Of Anything Relating Or Construed To Be Relating To Somebody’s Safety.
Watch America’s Funniest Videos or whatever it’s called or search the web videos. Lots of idiots take every chance to screw themselves up following, “Hold my beer! Watch this!” Week-ends and holidays flood emergency rooms with car surfers, DIY roman candle stuntmen, etcetera.
Look how many people ride down the road, talking on phones, typing messages, eating everything one can imagine, finding new ways to become distracted, crashing and hurting themselves and others and looking for somebody else to blame.
There has to a line there between assuring reasonable safety to folks and protecting them from everything at the peril of putting manufacturers out of business or making cars so expensive nobody can afford one.
I keep reading that more than 50% of U.S. citizens can no longer afford to purchase a new car. I expect that rate to increase. Once not many new cars get sold, used cars will become harder to find and more expensive, too.
“Once not many new cars get sold, used cars will become harder to find and more expensive, too.”
It’s already happening, to some degree
I’m not sure if less new cars are being sold, but used cars are certainly more expensive. Meaning that a used car in decent shape will set you back a LOT
Used Cars Will Be Next To Price-Out Of Being Affordable To A Larger And Larger Segment Of The Population.
I’ll bet some people would trade back-up cameras stability control, and a life-time key chain Recall warranty for something other than walking to a job.
New car sales are normal right now, but a few years ago they were very low, and those are the cars that would normally be in the used car pool. The high used car prices are likely increasing new car sales, especially of cars with high resale values. Why buy a late-model used Civic or Corolla when a new one costs just a little more. You get a car with a known history and that new car smell. If you typically keep your cars for a decade (or more) the price difference is fairly meaningless. I’m glad we bought new a couple of years ago. It was a lot less hassle than trying to find a used car that met our needs.
Because a car that’s only 3-4 years old will have serious miles and wear and tear, yet the asking price will be close to that of the same car, if it were brand new
I still think a good place to look is a used car from the car rental agencies. They’re usually only 2 years old and the mileage isn’t super high. If you don’t mind a boring, cookie cutter sedan
I’ve always believed that rental car agency sell-offs were an excellent place to look for late model used cars. Some might have been abused, but the agencies roll their stock over in order to keep current vehicles for their customers, so the odds of getting a good car are better IMHO than they are in the overall used car marketplace. Far too often a late model used car is back in the market because it has a problem that can’t be fixed. Everyone I know who’s bought a used car three years old or younger has faced a problem that nobody can seem to fix. A lady I worked with bought a one year old Saturn and suffered repeated CEL illuminations, and nobody could seem to fix it. She finally gave up and just left it lit. The dealer to his credit replaced everything that the codes suggested might possibly be the problem, and did repeated and varied diagnosis, and then started replacing things based on wild guesses, but the problem never did go away.
I’ve Bought Many 1 - 2 Year-Old Very Low Miles Former Rental Cars. It Does Require Some Effort & One Can’t Be In A Hurry. Last One I Bought (Certified) Literally Came With More Factory Warranty Than A Brand New Automobile.
I will admit that rental (fleet) cars can lean toward boring, but my family has several cars. Some are transportation, cargo, mpg, safety, and others are fun to drive vehicles.
Besides, give me a decent seat and a good radio and speakers and it doesn’t much matter much what I’m in and everything is a long distance here on straight roads, so…
Also, my ego is intact, I don’t worry about keeping up with the Joneses and my wife wouldn’t want me picking up chicks…
I have never regretted any of my car purchases. That’s why I keep doing it. CSA
I used to rent cars for wor every other week, and I never abused the cars. Almost everyone I worked with did the same thing. Only 2 guys abused their rental cars out of 50 or 60.
My G6 was an Enterprise car from Boston. Got it from the dealer though. One year old with 30K so it had been on the road. Great car. All the bells and whistles except leather seats and the price was very competitive. (I believe the options are the rental car package to make them easier to sell again.) I’d do it again if they still made them. The only evidence of anything strange was the rear tires were different than the fronts. Good tread and looked the same but different brands. Don’t know who or why they would have done that and there has been no abnormal wear issues. I understand I paid probably what Enterprise paid but what choice do we have if we aren’t buying thousands at a time?
Turns out Takata knew in 2004 that its airbag inflator canisters were rupturing, but instead of fixing their quality control problems they just hid the evidence:
“Takata secretly conducted tests on 50 airbags it retrieved from scrapyards, according to two former employees involved in the tests, one of whom was a senior member of its testing lab.”
“The steel inflaters in two of the airbags cracked during the tests, a condition that can lead to rupture, the former employees said. The result was so startling that engineers began designing possible fixes in preparation for a recall, the former employees said.”
“But instead of alerting federal safety regulators to the possible danger, Takata executives discounted the results and ordered the lab technicians to delete the testing data from their computers and dispose of the airbag inflaters in the trash, they said.”
Actually, the article below is an interesting look at the culture inside Takata. The son of the founder did not want to go into the airbag business because he thought it was too risky. He feared the company would go bankrupt if their airbags didn’t work properly.
It also says the company used inflator “explosives” (not really, they just burn very fast) that were sensitive to moisture, unlike other airbag companies who used different compounds.
I need advice about replacing the Takata airbag on a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Honda has replaced the inflator for the driver’s side airbag in a recall, but does not have a recall for the passenger side. It seems to me that the shrapnel hazard is the same. Should I order a new inflator and pay for it? Turn off the airbag? The van is in excellent condition and has very low mileage – it’s worth keeping.
Pay for whatever you want, but I assume there have been no injuries from the passenger’s air bag (it might detonate upward, not directly toward you like the driver’s).