ST. LOUIS — Nearly 10 years after the government launched the largest recall in U.S. history, the struggle to get potentially deadly airbags off the road is still more challenging than ever.
On Nov. 18, 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered Takata to initiate a nationwide airbag recall.
Still, every day in this country there are 6.4 million cars on the road with defective Takata airbags, according to data from research company Carfax. If there’s a crash, the inflator inside the airbag can explode like a grenade, sending sharp metal fragments flying. For nearly a decade, automakers have been working to remove them from cars.
Now in St. Charles, Missouri, there’s one less. For months, Leslie Wisecarver has gotten notices on her door, urging her to get her 2012 Dodge Charger fixed.
"I didn’t think much of it," said Wisecarver, a car owner.
At first, she thought it was a scam. But a recent scare on the highway made her think twice.
"We actually had somebody break check us going down the highway 65 miles an hour... That really solidified why it was so important that I do this," she said.
The I-Team timed the fix. It took 21 minutes.
“I feel much safer. I feel more confident in the car," said Wisecarver. “It's the perfect price tag. It's free. It was simple, efficient.”
The person coordinating these fixes is Maddie Ritchey.
"It's essentially like riding around with a ticking time bomb inside your car," said Ritchey, a recall specialist with Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram that works to replace Takata airbags. Takata went bankrupt in 2018.
Every day Ritchey is on the search for people who don’t even know they’re in danger. She drives for miles, hoping someone will answer. Now, it’s a race against time and the weather. The more time the inflator inside the airbag is exposed to humidity, the bigger the risk, according to Michael Brooks, spokesperson with the Center for Auto Safety.
“I feel like I'm essentially saving their life," Ritchey said.
Government data shows there have been 27 deaths and over 400 injuries nationwide linked to these defective airbags, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The I-Team discovered there is no federal law to prevent dealers from selling used cars with open safety recalls.
Patrick Olsen with Carfax has been tracking the impact for years.
“So you're looking at cars that are in their second, third, fourth fifth owner," said Olsen, Carfax's editor-in-chief.
It’s one reason he said the numbers are so staggering. In Missouri, there are still 104,000 vehicles on the road with these bad airbags. There are 44,000 in just the St. Louis area. In Illinois, there are 167,000, according to Carfax data.
They’re older models of popular brands: Acura, BMW, Honda, Toyota and 30 others.
They’re often in the hands of young or first-time drivers. A mother to three kids herself, it’s something Ritchey thinks about every time she knocks on a door.
“Because that's our goal as a parent is just protecting our children and making sure that they're okay," said Ritchey.
“There's no reason not to get it scheduled," Wisecarver said.
She tells us she wishes she got the fix done sooner.
John David O’Neill, an attorney with South Carolina-based Motley Rice LLC, has represented dozens of clients injured by defective Takata airbag inflators. He has represented clients in Takata lawsuits and personal injury claims concerning vehicles manufactured by BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. In a statement, he told the I-Team: “One area of continuing concern is in the number of unrepaired and defective airbags reported to NHTSA by the automotive manufacturers. It is significantly greater than the number that is being publicly reported.
"In addition to the more than 6 million unrepaired airbags, there are an additional 2.3 million unrepaired airbags that are excluded from the ‘unrepaired’ grouping and likely excluded from the corresponding recall outreach because these airbags belong to ‘nonresponsive’ vehicle owners. Vehicle owners may fall into this ‘nonresponsive’ category for a variety of reasons, but it could be as simple as moving and not updating the vehicle registration in a timely manner.
"There are an additional 5.7 million airbags excluded due to the vehicles being ‘scrapped.’ The exclusion of roughly 8 million unrepaired airbags from public reporting means that an unacceptable number of potentially dangerous airbags remain on the roads, without intervention by manufacturers.”
RESOURCES
As this recall continues, it's crucial for drivers to check if their cars are affected. Go to carfax.com/recall, and plug in your car information. You’ll find out if you need to take immediate action.
You can also visit NHTSA.gov/recalls to find out if your car or truck is under recall. Search using your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or license plate number. Your search result will tell you if your car or truck is included in this recall or any other safety recall. Call your local dealer to schedule the free repair.
If you’re in the St. Louis area, you can get your airbag fixed for free by contacting Maddie Ritchey on the Stellantis Takata Recall Team with MarketSource, a company that partners with automakers Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, at 636-725-5412 or email maritchey@takataairbagrecall.org.
If people are outside the St. Louis area, Ritchey recommends they call their local dealership to schedule a free repair as soon as possible, or they can call Stellantis Customer Care at 833-585-0144 for additional assistance.
A Stellantis spokesperson said that because of those lawsuits against Takata, the monetary awards are what largely aid in funding the recall and are available to the manufacturers affected. The financial cost of this recall falls on the manufacturer as well. MarketSource has been hired by Stellantis to take on the canvassing campaign to get these deadly vehicles repaired before going back on the road. This is why the repair is free for the vehicle owner and customer.
Here is the full list of car brands that NHTSA said are impacted by the Takata airbag recall. The recall impacts only certain year cars.
- Acura (Honda)
- Audi (VW)
- BMW
- Cadillac (GM)
- Chevrolet (GM)
- Chrysler
- Daimler Trucks North America (Sterling Bullet)
- Daimler Vans USA LLC (Sprinter)
- Dodge/Ram (Chrysler)
- Ferrari
- Fisker (Karma)
- Ford
- GMC (GM)
- Honda
- Infiniti (Nissan)
- Jaguar
- Jeep (Chrysler)
- Land Rover (Jaguar Land Rover)
- Lexus (Toyota)
- Lincoln (Ford)
- Mazda
- McLaren
- Mercedes-Benz
- Mercury (Ford)
- Mitsubishi
- Nissan
- Pontiac (GM)
- Saab (GM)
- Saturn (GM)
- Scion (Toyota)
- Subaru
- Tesla
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
Want to contact the I-Team's Paula Vasan? Leave a voice message on 314-444-5231 or email her at pvasan@ksdk.com.