Faulty air bags leads to largest recall in U.S. history

Further concerns regarding the safety issues surrounding car air bags has resulted in the largest vehicle recall programme in U.S. history. Potential flaws in some vehicle air bags has meant that when an accident occurs, they can deploy at excessive speeds and eject shards of metal into the vehicle. The recall is restricted to the U.S., so cars sold in Essex are not believed to be affected by this problem.

The faulty air bags were made by Takata Corporation and have been used by at least 11 car manufacturers across a range of models. This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave information on further makes and models and has doubled the number of recalled vehicles to over 33 million units. Manufacturers affected by the recall include General Motors, Honda, BMW, Ford and Mitsubishi among others. Vehicle owners are being urged to visit a designated website and enter their vehicle identification number in order to see if their vehicle is affected.

To date, there have been six deaths and over 100 injuries caused by the malfunctioning air bags. Car models as old as the 2004-2005 Subaru Impreza and Saab’s 2005 9-2X are among those listed in the recall notice. Models and individual vehicles are still being added to the growing recall list by manufacturers. Daimler Trucks, Mazda and Toyota are among those who released recall information in May 2015 and further announcements by other manufacturers are expected shortly.

Manufacturers and distributors of products have a legal responsibility to ensure that their goods are safe for consumers. They must give warnings concerning potential risks and act if a safety problem is identified. Anyone who has suffered an injury due to an unsafe product may wish to seek legal advice from a solicitor with experience in product liability cases.