ORLANDO, Fla. – The surge of open recalls for faulty Takata airbags in Florida has jumped to 3.5 million vehicles, up by roughly 300,000 since 2019, according to Carfax.
“It’s the third highest number in the country,” Carfax Spokesperson Emilie Voss told News 6. “That’s concerning because this impacts the safety of everyone on the road.”
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To put the recall numbers in perspective, Orlando has nearly 719,000 vehicles, or 21%, with an open airbag recall, the 18th highest in the country and up almost 87,000 vehicles since 2019.
“A lot of people don’t know they have an open recall on their vehicle. It’s really important, it’s free to check and only takes a couple of seconds,” Voss said.
The Takata airbag recall is considered to be the largest vehicle recall in United States history. Tens of millions of vehicles have been added to the list and more than 20 people have died and hundreds more have been injured due to defective airbags.
The airbags, made by major parts supplier Takata, were installed in cars mostly from model years 2002 through 2015. Some of those airbags could deploy explosively because of the airbag’s inflator, which used so-called propellant wafers that in some cases ignited with explosive force.
The list of vehicles that are considered at risk continues to evolve.
In November, The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a recall of 5.9 million General Motors SUVs and trucks in the U.S. from the 2007 through 2014 model years—including the Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban and Avalanche, GMC Sierra and Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade—will need to have their passenger side airbags replaced.
The announcement came after a four-year battle between NHTSA and GM .
According to Consumer Reports, 19 different automakers have been recalled to replace “frontal airbags on the driver’s side or passenger’s side.”
Both NHTSA and Carfax urge consumers to check for recall updates on their vehicles.
In 2019, there were 966 safety recalls affecting more than 53 million vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment in the United States. According to NHTSA, several large, high-profile recalls of vehicles and equipment highlight the importance of repairing a recall immediately:
- Tens of millions of Takata air bags, the largest recall in U.S. history.
- More than 1.7 million Harbor Freight jack stands, which could collapse and injure people around or underneath a vehicle.
- More than 2.1 million Denso fuel pumps, which could fail and result in a stall that causes a crash.
The public can check for recalls in several ways. They can use NHTSA’s Recalls Lookup Tool to check their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for any open recalls, including Takata recalls. They can also download the SaferCar app and let it check automatically for them.
If their vehicle does have a recall, they can call their automaker’s local dealer to schedule the free repair.
If a consumer thinks their vehicle may have a safety defect that isn’t part of a current recall, they can contact NHTSA online or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
You can also check your vehicle’s recall status at: www.carfax.com/recall.