driver side interior dash
View it through the windshield on the drivers side
The Takata airbag recall affects approximately 37 million vehicles as of February 15, 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Takata airbags may explode with too much force and shatter the inflator, which can shoot metal shrapnel into the vehicle, potentially injuring or killing occupants. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about the recall.
Table Of Contents
- Airbag Recall VIN Lookup: See If Your Vehicle Is Part of the Recall
- Breaking News on the Takata Recall
- Your Recall Date Depends on Your Priority Group
- Here’s What to Do If Your Vehicle Is Part of the Recall
- The Problem With Takata Airbags: Ammonium Nitrate Without a Drying Agent
- Deaths & Injuries Associated With Takata Airbags
- Takata’s Knowledge of Manufacturing Problems & Ammonium Nitrate Dangers
- Takata’s Bankruptcy Does Not Affect the Recall
- Some Automakers Have Reached Settlements in Class Action Lawsuits
- Takata Airbag Injury Lawsuits
- Takata Airbag Recall Lawsuit News and Information
Before the NHTSA established these zones in 2016, regions were grouped by areas of high absolute humidity (HAH) or non-HAH. Manufacturers defined HAH individually, but HAH areas always include vehicles sold or at any time registered in: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Saipan, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each Priority Group has a corresponding date at which point vehicle owners or lessees should receive a recall notice and may schedule a repair.
If your vehicle is subject to the recall, take your vehicle to the manufacturer’s nearest dealership to schedule a repair. The automaker must repair your airbag for FREE. If the manufacturer refuses to repair the airbag at no charge, then you can file a 
Ask your manufacturer if it is safe to continue driving your vehicle before you get the airbag replaced at the dealer. Some automakers have advised some owners to stop driving immediately. If your vehicle is on the list below, the NHTSA and automakers advise drivers not to drive the vehicle, unless driving it to a dealership for the airbag repair.
If your vehicle is in a Priority Group that is not yet part of the recall, you must wait until you receive your recall notice to get your vehicle repaired. If you did not receive a recall notice but your vehicle is part of a Priority Group that is currently part of the recall, contact an authorized dealer to schedule your repair. The dealership should be able to lookup your vehicle using your VIN to confirm it is subject to the airbag recall.
Your recall notice may list a local dealership, but you can take it to any of your brand’s dealerships (e.g., Honda dealership for a Honda, Ford dealership for a Ford, etc.). You do not have to take your vehicle to the dealership where you bought or leased it.
Call the dealership to ask about scheduling an appointment. The Takata recall is so large that dealerships may be overwhelmed trying to accommodate all the repairs, so dealerships may require you to make an appointment.
When exposed to moisture, ammonium nitrate may degrade. When ignited by a crash sensor during a collision, the degraded ammonium nitrate may explode with too much force. When the airbag’s inflator explodes, it can shatter the housing and other components in the airbag, shooting metal fragments into the vehicle. Shrapnel from the shattered airbag inflator has struck vehicle occupants, causing severe and fatal injuries like lacerations, puncture wounds, and even skull fractures, according to media reports. The image on the right depicts a normal airbag deployment – where the crash sensor signals the inflator to ignite the propellant and start a chemical reaction that produces nitrogen gas to inflate the airbag – compared to the deployment of a defective Takata airbag.
Ammonium nitrate may break down when exposed to moisture. And when the ammonium nitrate degrades, it may become volatile and could “combust violently” when ignited during airbag deployment. A 1995 patent application even sounded the warning on ammonium nitrate, according to research conducted by the 
Takata’s replacement airbags still use an ammonium nitrate-based propellant but now include a drying agent to prevent moisture from degrading the ammonium nitrate. But in 2017, millions of the newer airbag inflators, which included a drying agent, were found to be defective and added to the recall. Takata says all the recalled airbags that had drying agents in the inflators used calcium sulfate as a drying agent, and the rest of its new airbags use zeolite as a drying agent. The company claims to have solved the problem with its inflators, but the continued use of ammonium nitrate has many experts skeptical. “The automakers…and Takata – they all know that this is a future issue,” said Scott Upham, chief executive at Valient Market Research, via 
Ammonium nitrate’s susceptibility to moisture makes a drying agent crucial to absorb moisture. Without the drying agent, it leaves the ammonium nitrate vulnerable to moisture, especially in hot and humid climates. This map of fatal accidents attributed to defective Takata airbags – based on media reports and up to date as of February 15, 2018 – provides a visual of the confluence of accidents in Southern climates with high humidity.
In many cases, victims’ injuries may resemble stabbing or gunshot wounds. In fact, in one case, officials investigated an accident as a homicide because the victim’s injuries resembled stab wounds, reports the 
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Another Reuters report
Perhaps most disturbing, Takata became aware that one of its airbag inflators ruptured and expelled shrapnel at a driver in 2004, according to a 
On March 30, 2011, Guillermo Apud, a supervisor at Takata’s Monclova plant, wrote an email with the subject line “Defectos y defectos y defectos!!!!” in which he explained that an automaker received an airbag inflator with improper welding. He wrote, in part: We cannot be faced with findings/defects of this sort and NOT do ANYTHING One unwelded part = one less life, which means that we are NOT accomplishing the mission Remember that here WE SAVE LIVES with our products. The full email is in this 
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Takata Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 25, 2017. The company said filing for bankruptcy was necessary to continue supplying replacement airbags. “We’re in a very difficult situation, and we had to find ways to keep supplying our products,” said Takata President Shigehisa Takada, 
Several automakers have agreed to settlements in class action lawsuits. The settlements pay current and former owners or lessees of vehicles subject to the recall specified benefits, including residual distributions (i.e., general payments to class members), free rental cars, and reimbursement of expenses incurred to get vehicle repairs (e.g., lost wages, child care, towing, etc.). Below are details of the settlements agreed to by the respective automakers:
