Car Accident and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Takata Recalls Millions of Faulty Airbags for Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda Models

Posted on April 15, 2013 | Written By: iadminlaw

The driver and passenger front airbags, after ...

The driver and passenger front airbags, after having been deployed, in a Peugeot 306 car. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Japanese corporation Takata, which has been manufacturing seatbelts, airbags, child restraint systems and other interior parts for automobiles for over 70 years, has forced automobile manufacturers to recall 3.4 million vehicles due to its faulty airbags. These airbags distributed to popular models, including Toyota Corollas and Honda Civics can cause fires or metal shrapnel to hit the driver because they may not inflate correctly.

It has been reported that Toyota has recalled approximately 580,000 North American vehicles and 490,000 European vehicles assembled between November 2000 and March 2004 (1.73 million total); Honda has recalled about 1.14 million vehicles; Nissan may recall 480,000 vehicles; and Mazda has recalled 45,463 cars.

Takata Corporation is the second largest global manufacturer of airbags. It first learned of the airbag issues in October 2011, but has not been able to figure out which cars were affected until now. Vice President of communications for Takata, Alby Berman explains how narrowing down how many vehicles house the faulty airbags is difficult because there have been so few incidents in the world thus far, but he states that, “[E]ven one (malfunctioning) airbag out there is a problem for our customer and for Takata.”

This is the largest recall for Takata since the 8 million vehicles equipped with defective seatbelts in 1995. And in 2011 when the first airbag malfunction was reported, the shares in Takata fell almost 10 percent in Tokyo trading. But Takata is working hard to fix the issue before anyone is hurt, because currently there have been zero injuries.

Takata is not the only company feeling the sting of the recall. Toyota is receiving most of the negative attention because it is involved in another recall. In late 2009, Toyota began the recall of nearly 19 million vehicles globally for the unintended acceleration issues. Though these airbags aren’t the fault of Toyota, the rebuilding of its reputation will certainly remain stagnant until this problem is resolved.

Whether you’ve experienced a faulty airbag, or have simply been injured by one during a car accident, contact one of our accident attorneys for legal consultation.

News Service Disclaimer: i Accident Lawyer provides this news service to keep you informed about accidents and events happening in and around your community. The information in these articles is obtained from a variety of secondary sources including press releases by law enforcement, websites, and news reports. This material is for general information only and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed; for complete details about a given event or accident you should refer to an official police report. i Accident Lawyer may not represent the parties mentioned in these news articles. If you have been injured in the reported news article and you need our help please call, we can help you. The articles are for informational purposes only. Our law firm has been helping victims of serious injuries and their families for over 30 years. Call us for a free, no obligation consultation.

Lawyer Advertising. This website is designed for general information only, and in no way is intended to constitute legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship without a signed, written agreement. Testimonials or endorsements do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. You pay no fees or costs unless we recover for you. This website contains dramatizations. Prior results are not a guarantee of a future outcome. i Accident Lawyer does not accept all cases and works cooperatively with co-counsel and/or other law firms with whom it has joint agreements who might potentially handle your cases. We look forward to helping you with your claim.