Takata Air Bag Recalls: Honda Expands List To Include 2006 Ridgeline Truck; Nissan Adds Infiniti M Sedans

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have added to the growing list of vehicles that could contain a potentially fatal air bag component. So far 7.8 million U.S. vehicles from 10 major auto manufacturers contain the flawed component made by Japanese auto safety parts-maker Takata Corp., which could cause bags to overinflate, explode and spray bits of metal into the cabin.

Honda, which has the highest number of affected vehicles, added its 2006 Ridgeline pickup truck to its list. Nissan expanded its list to include the 2006 Sentra and 2006 M luxury sedans. Both notices were announced Saturday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

The scope of the recalls underscores how numerous manufacturers can rely on a single part supplier, in this case Takata. When a flaw is discovered like this, the impact is broad.

Takata’s share price hit a five year low Monday in Tokyo when the stock plummeted nearly 17 percent to 1,177 yen ($10.31). On Friday, the New York Times cited two former Takata employees who claim the company in 2004 ordered technicians to destroy test results showing air bag inflators contained cracks. Honda and Nissan say the latest recalls affect vehicles “originally sold or ever registered in geographic locations that consistently experience high absolute humidity” -- i.e. much of the U.S.

Takata has said a flawed air bag inflator contains contaminated propellant that causes catastrophic overinflation if the car is exposed to long periods of heat and humidity.

The Center for Auto Safety, a Washington consumer advocacy organization, has criticized NHTSA for permitting these region-based recalls, saying they risk owners of affected vehicles forgoing repairs if they live outside of the areas mentioned in the recall notices.

The U.S. states and territories mentioned in Honda’s and Nissan’s latest announcements are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam and American Samoa.

With the addition of new vehicles, Honda now has more than 5 million of the Takata air bag-related recalls. Nissan’s number stands at nearly 695,000 vehicles.

For further information, vehicle owners can go to the manufacturers; consumer website or NHTSA’s Vehicle-Identification-Number-lookup tool. The NHTSA currently (as of Nov. 10, 2014) lists the following vehicles that contain the faulty Takata air bags.

Honda: 5,051,364 potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2007 Honda Accord
2001 – 2002 Honda Accord
2001 – 2005 Honda Civic
2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V
2003 – 2011 Honda Element
2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey
2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot
2006 – Honda Ridgeline
2003 – 2006 Acura MDX
2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL
2005 – Acura RL

Toyota: 877,000 potentially affected vehicles
2002 – 2005 Lexus SC
2002 – 2005 Toyota Corolla
2003 – 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002 – 2005 Toyota Sequoia
2003 – 2005 Toyota Tundra

Nissan: 694,626 potentially affected vehicles
2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima
2001 – 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002 – 2004 Nissan Sentra
2001 – 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4
2003 – 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45

BMW: 627,615 potentially affected vehicles
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan
2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe
2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible
2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe
2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible

Chrysler: 371,309 potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Ram 2500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 3500
2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
2008 – Dodge Ram 5500
2005 – 2008 Dodge Durango
2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota
2005 – 2008 Chrysler 300
2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen

Mazda: 64,872 potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2007 Mazda6
2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8
2004 – 2005 MPV
2004 – B-Series Truck

Ford: 58,669 potentially affected vehicles
2004 – Ranger
2005 – 2006 GT
2005 – 2007 Mustang

Subaru: 17,516 potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Baja
2003 – 2005 Legacy
2003 – 2005 Outback
2004 – 2005 Impreza

Mitsubishi: 11,985 potentially affected vehicles
2004 – 2005 Lancer
2006 – 2007 Raider

General Motors: undetermined number of potentially affected vehicles
2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe
2005 – Saab 9-2X