Local car dealerships busy with Takata airbag recalls

Local car dealerships are busy fielding calls from worried drivers regarding the problems with the airbags manufactured by the Japanese supplier Takata.

At least five people have died from the exploding airbags and the company is now expanding it’s recall to include nearly 35 million cars.

It’s being called one of the largest consumer product recalls ever. Approximately one out of seven cars on the road has a defective Takata airbag.

Which could mean deadly consequences if left unfixed.

Since the announcement, Honda of the Desert has seen an increase in service calls

“It is actually the device that inflates the airbag. I brought one out. It is the part that people do not see. It is behind the airbag and is the container that holds the chemical that actually detonates and inflates the airbag in case of an accident,” service manager Todd Hatch said.

The chemical powder inside should be light and fluffy like flour. But in areas where there’s high humidity the powder becomes moist and hardens and that’s when the problem occurs.

“If you were to get into an accident, it’s possible that when it inflates that pieces of the compound that are hard can actually hit you and hurt you,” Hatch said.

While humidity is rare here in the desert, Honda owner Mark Guerrero felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Who wants to have an airbag explode on them. You know some people got seriously injured, so this was not something you can brush off,” Guerrero said.

To find out if your car is recalled the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in the process of listing all cars affected on it’s website.

If your car is listed you can contact the dealership the sells your model to get it replaced.

The airbags will be replaced at no cost to the owner.