The best explanation I have seen regarding the Takata airbag situation

"NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said GM has filed paperwork declaring the inflators defective and they will be recalled. “The science clearly shows that these inflators become unsafe over time,” he said.
"
3 of the deaths were in 2015, looks like a time bomb to me.

For those who fear endless parts shortages for airbag replacements, you need to remember that Takata is not the only supplier, and that car companies are increasingly turning to the 3 other major airbag suppliers for airbags for their new vehicles, as well as for replacement parts for their recalled vehicles. Besides Delphi, both TRW and Autoliv are currently supplying US automakers, and Autoliv has captured 25% of the market for airbags in The US.

Although I did not act on the advice, one of my investing publications recently suggested investing in airbag suppliers other than Takata, simply because of both the need for replacement parts and the lagging faith in Takata’s ability to survive their self-created crisis.

they ALL . . ALL air bags ever made . . could be degraded with time.
The entire technology has yet to stand the test of time .
By the time somone finally blows an old airbag ? . . far too much other vehicle damage will also occur and who would ever think ( till now ) to look at the airbag as an injury fault.
It’s been widely recognized that getting slammed in the face will invariably cause some residual injury in its own right.

I have NEVER had an airbag blow in my face.

I’ve never experienced an air bag either. I think the difference is the shrapnel. Getting blasted by an old bag and having some broken bones is one thing but having the metal container blow apart is another. I think the other suppliers though are producing at full tilt but the demand is just too high to quickly resolve the issue.

they ALL . . ALL air bags ever made . . could be degraded with time.

Of course, in this case we’re making the distinction between could and are.
Root cause analysis has revealed a known risk. It’s not speculative.

By the time somone finally blows an old airbag ? . . far too much other vehicle damage will also occur and who would ever think ( till now ) to look at the airbag as an injury fault.
Well, when you're relatively unscathed except for that metal shard lodged in your throat...

I also think you’re making too big a stretch that a 10 year old car is going to fold up like a circus tent just because it’s older. Especially in the south where the ravages of road salt are fairly unknown but the opposite appears to be true of the scare bag…they degrade more readily in those climates.

It's been widely recognized that getting slammed in the face will invariably cause some residual injury in its own right.

Some 18 years ago, there was a terrible accident right in front of my house. One car had an air bag, the other did not. The guy with the air bag was walking around with a bloody lip. The other guy took the permanent dirt nap. Don’t know about you, but the idea of surviving a head on collision with a bloody lip is pretty appealing outcome. Then again, if I survive the initial impact only to be impaled by shrapnel from the device intended to help save me, it kinda defeats the purpose…

It’s kinda like a tonsil. They are fabulous first line of defense against assault on your body. That is, until they go so far as to join the other side. Then they have to be removed…
:wink:

I am going to ask my question again. Is there a way to know who manufactured the airbag on my car if it is NOT on the recall list?

@galant

Are you equipped to take it out, so that you can read the label?

Depending on the car, it might be very easy

yesterday, I removed a driver’s airbag on a GM truck, so I could do some repairs on the steering column. It literally took a few seconds to remove the airbag and unplug the 2 connectors at the back

@galant you can look here, my car is listed as having the airbag, but not on the recall list.

@Barkydog Thanks for the link, but seems that is from 2014 and is a list of “affected” vehicles that probably means by now they should be on the recall list.

@db4690 I thought about that, at least if it is going to blow, it would kill me rather than the wife or kids :smiley:

This is NHTSA’s list;
(click on the manufactures name to open vehicle model list)

http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/takatalist.html

My Camry still isn’t on the list

Maybe since my car was built in Kentucky, it didn’t use Takata air bags?

Couldn’t help but notice Benz has by FAR the most types of vehicles on that list. All totaled up, though, there were probably more Toyotas with recalled airbags sold, versus all of those Benzes added up

:tongue:

Last month Toyota added another million vehicles to the list that are not on the NHTSA list.

These vehicles are in “Zone A”
Zone A vehicles are identified as having been originally sold, currently registered, or previously registered in a Zone A state or US territory: AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the US Virgin Islands. These states and U.S. territories have been identified as having high temperature cycling and humidity. Time in service until significant propellant degradation may occur is projected at between 6-9 years.

@galnt this seems a bit more updated, but now my car is not listed. smoke and mirrors :frowning:

Under wtf
Despite a deadly defect that has caused at least 100 injuries in the United States and 13 deaths worldwide, four automakers – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volkswagen – told the Senate Committee that they will continue to sell new vehicles with the non-desiccated Takata inflators. Vehicles slated to be sold with the recalled airbags include the 2016 and 2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, 2016 VW CC, 2016 Audi TT and 2017 Audi R8. Toyota didn’t provide any specific model details, but the company said it plans to sell about 175,000 vehicles equipped with the airbags between March 2016 and July 2017. FCA declined to give model details or the number of vehicles it plans to sell with Takata’s non-desiccated inflators.

Read more: http://www.leftlanenews.com/four-automakers-still-using-defective-takata-airbags-91909.html#ixzz4AwwnH4iI

Well in answer those lists simply list the cars with air bag recalls, not the model and manufacturer of the bags in a particular car. I think mine has multiple bags, front, side, etc. so taking them out of the seat would not be an easy task.

At any rate car manufacturers simply do not provide information on the manufacturer or details of components installed on cars. I suppose for a number of reasons. The only way I found out my CRT screen on my Riv was to take it out and found a Zenith name on it. I found out my diesel injector pump was made by Stanadyne by taking it out and searching. True some folks in the rebuilding business would be familiar with who makes this stuff, but not the normal consumer. Would it be nice? Yeah probably, but would be a long list varying by the car and date in addition to the build sheet. Best is to simply call the dealer and ask who made the side seat bag and what kind of propellant was used. Likely they wouldn’t even know except for the front dash bags but Barney in the back might if he had taken a seat apart and looked at the bag label.

3 of the deaths were in 2015, looks like a time bomb to me.

Three too many however more than 3 motorist in my community die each year form gun shot wounds. In my county there are 150 traffic fatalities each year. In 2014 there were 32,675 traffic fatalities in the United States. The defective airbags are insignificant compared to the overall traffic fatalities. It would be more reasonable to worry about lightning, alligators and sharks.

Bummer, I found a use stick shift VW Golf for sale and was interested to go check it out for a fun daily driver and the car is on the recall list. One more hurdle in the car buying process since apparently this is so widespread that the dealers are ignoring the fact that they are selling a car with an important open recall.

What makes you think we aren’t worrying about sharks and alligators and snakes too? Just kidding.

The Acura lot was full of nice late model used cars that they can’t sell until the bags are fixed. Yeah, VW, BMW, and not many species that don’t have at least one Takata bag hidden somewhere. It seems like on the newer cars, they were mostly used on the passenger side though if that’s any consolation.