AirBag Recall: 4.7 Million Vehicles Require Immediate Service

Takata, air bag maker — A man walks past a sign board of Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp's Annual General Meeting in Tokyo June 26, 2014. Reuters

The owners of nearly 5 million vehicles are being urged to take immediate action as a result of a massive recall to replace potentially defective airbags that have been linked with multiple deaths in recent months. The recall impacts cars, SUVs, vans and trucks manufactured by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, BMW and General Motors (GM) from 2000 through 2006.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the recall of more than 4.7 million vehicles Monday, and has set up an online vehicle identification number (VIN) look-up tool at this link. Drivers can simply type a vehicle's VIN to determine whether it is affected by the recall and needs service.

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges owners of certain Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan and General Motors vehicles to act immediately on recall notices to replace defective Takata airbags,” NHTSA said in a statement.

“The message comes with urgency, especially for owners of vehicles affected by the regional recalls in the following areas: Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.”

The impacted air bags were made by Japan’s Takata Corp., and are being recalled after their inflator mechanisms ruptured in a number of incidents, sending metal shrapnel flying when the air bags inflated in crashes, Reuters reported. The ruptures have taken place in areas with high humidity, hence the previous regional recalls.

Below is a breakdown of vehicles that may be affected by the recall, as provided by NHSTA, organized by make and model:

Toyota: 778,177 total number of vehicles potentially affected

2002-04 Lexus SC

2003-04 Toyota Corolla

2003-04 Toyota Corolla Matrix

2002-04 Toyota Sequoia

2003-04 Toyota Tundra

2003-04 Pontiac Vibe

Honda: 2,803,214 total number of potentially affected vehicles

2001-07 Honda Accord (4 cyl)

2001-02 Honda Accord (6 cyl)

2001-05 Honda Civic