Airbag recall

[Alistair_Heaton]

Most expensive recall in history forced Japanese auto company Takata to file for bankruptcy

Takata was pushed into bankruptcy after being involved in the complex, expensive recall of explosive airbags. The dangerous airbags have led to the death of 28 people in the U.S.

www.foxbusiness.com

The previous thread on airbags is closed.

Sept 24 being the most recent fatality caused me to post this.

 

[IRstuff]

I get the impression that 90% of the article is old, and only the 2024 statistics are new; Takata's bankruptcy is definitely old news.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

yep it was the fatality in Sept 24 which triggered my thought to post. Would have thought they would have been out of circulation by now.

I have yet to get my head round the difference between US bags and others. I have looked for accidents in Europe involving them but no success.

 

[3DDave]

Degradation of the propellant requires heat and high humidity; many of the misfires have been in vehicles that see 90ºF and 90% humidity for months at a time over a period of years.

Are there places in Europe that have weather like that?

Looks like there is concern.

Takata airbags: Brands and models affected by recalls in Europe​

Brand	Affected model
Citroën	C3, DS3
DS Automobile	DS3
Audi	Urgent recall to recent models
Honda	Different models until 2023
Mazda	Some specific sedans
Opel	Selected models
Seat	Models affected in 2024
Skoda	Inclusion in the 2023 recall
Volkswagen	Reminders extended to multiple models
Toyota	Series of calls to owners

Since 2024, Citroën and DS have mobilized to recall more than 240,000 vehicles in France, notably the C3 and DS3 models. This initiative is part of a broader effort involving various other manufacturers. Indeed, brands like Audi, Mazda, And Toyota were also affected by recall campaigns that lasted until 2020. This phenomenon did not stop there, since companies such as Land Rover, Skoda, And Volkswagen followed suit in 2023.

Another contributor is that the inflators of main concern were built in a Mexican Takata plant and so fewer would have gone into European cars.

Still:

The multinational carmaker announced a recall for 530 000 DS 3 and C3 vehicles earlier this week. It’s now believed that 1.4 million cars are affected in France.

And

Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products

ec.europa.eu

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Yes 32 degs C and 90 RH is not unusual even in the Baltics.

I really am just trying to understand it because I seem to be one of three people in my global group of friends that does follow these recalls and makes any effort to persuade people to actually do them.

It was the fact that someone was killed in 2024 I would have thought that technical checks would have caught them not being swapped out years ago.

 

[3DDave]

It was the fact that someone was killed in 2024 I would have thought that technical checks would have caught them not being swapped out years ago.

Why would you think that?

 

[3DDave]

"The European-average temperature for summer 2023 was 19.63°C"

Where did the other 13C go?

"In terms of the effects of the high temperatures on the human body, large parts of southern Europe saw up to two weeks of “very strong” heat stress, corresponding to a “feels-like” temperature of between 38 and 46°C, over the season. Some areas, such as southern Spain, experienced up to 60 days with this level of heat stress. Values were remarkably higher in regions of the Maghreb and the Middle-East."

Oh, wow, up to 2 weeks? How about 2-3 months.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

just took my new 2 year ago car to have its first tech check 3 weeks ago and it was surprisingly anal on the recall checks. the first point of call was the vim check.

speaking now as pilot its the Siberian high which is in full force.

 

[IRstuff]

If you go to a dealer repair shop, they'll likely run a recall check, since they're the ones usually on the hook for making the repairs. However, since dealer shops tend to be their profit centers, lots of people go to cheaper places, which might not do the recall checks, since they're unlikely to be in the network for getting reimbursed.

 

[dik]

speaking now as pilot its the Siberian high which is in full force.

Is that a cold front?

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Cold fronts are a feature in a depression. There is a big one crossing the Atlantic this week east.

Highs the air is descending big one sits over northern Russia in the winter.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

To note the technical checks in most European countries are done by a government licensed agency.

They are separate to the repair shops and dealers.

A mate got pulled for having a third party headlight fitted without a "EU" number on it. Quite what the number is I haven't a clue.

 

[dik]

There is a big one crossing the Atlantic this week east

Thanks...

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Some of them are seriously low aka engineering failure effect. 962mb would ground analogue instrumented aircraft on Thursday the 21st.

Also that low you get issues with strokes and haemorrhaging in the general population.

 

[drwebb]

The details are in another article linked in the original:

"The driver was in a 2006 Ranger that was subject to a "do not drive" notice issued in 2018, but never had the faulty part replaced.

The incident occurred in Florida this June and brought the total number of Takata airbag-related deaths in the U.S. to 23."

"A Ford spokesman said the automaker sent over 100 notices to the owner’s home and also a representative who visited in person.

"We are urging all remaining affected owners not to drive these vehicles and to contact Ford to schedule a free repair," the spokesman told Reuters."