Press Release - 01-12-2018

DMV News

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 12, 2018

Contact: 
Tiffany Portzer
[email protected]

 

DMV URGES VEHICLE OWNERS TO CHECK FOR INFORMATION FOLLOWING EXPANDED RECALL OF TAKATA AIR BAGS

 

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles today encouraged motorists to check to see if their vehicles are affected by the latest recalls due to problems with Takata air bags. Toyota and Honda both announced this week that they are adding more than one million vehicles in the United States to the recall list in regard to problems with the air bags. To find out if your vehicle is part of this or any other recall, simply enter your Vehicle Identification Number on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Safety Issues & Recalls webpage.

 

“The Safety Issues & Recalls webpage is a quick and easy way to make sure your car is safe and I urge all New Yorkers to take advantage of this simple tool,” said Terri Egan, Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). “Within minutes, you can learn if there are any recalls that affect your vehicle and find out how to get the necessary repairs or replacements.”

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Takata air bags can explode when the air bag deploys, causing serious injury or even death. The latest recall brings the total number of affected air bags to around 65-70 million, the NHTSA says. Takata supplied these defective air bags to many vehicle manufacturers for years, creating what the agency calls one of the largest and most complex recalls in U.S. history.

 

The affected vehicles in the latest recall are equipped with a particular type of Takata inflator. According to Takata, a safety defect may arise in the front passenger air bag inflators due to degradation of a propellant. This occurs after prolonged exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling. This can cause the inflator to rupture when the air bag deploys.

 

The latest expansion of the recall is based on new information from Takata and involves approximately 601,300 additional Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S.

 

Toyota said it would notify all known owners of the involved vehicles by first class mail by early March. Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace either the front passenger air bag inflator or the front passenger air bag assembly at no cost to customers.

 

Honda too announced it was recalling approximately 465,000 additional Honda and Acura vehicles in the U.S. A total of approximately 717,000 vehicles, including those also subject to prior recalls, will be affected by this action. Honda also added 960 Honda Gold Wing motorcycles to the recall.

 

Owners of affected vehicles can schedule a no-cost repair immediately at authorized Honda and Acura dealers. Some vehicles previously repaired under earlier driver front inflator recalls will now require replacement of those vehicles' passenger front inflators. Honda said it would mail notification of the recall to customers beginning in late February.

 

Those who are unsure if their vehicle is part of the recall can visit NHTSA’s Safety Issues & Recalls webpage and enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to check whether their vehicle has any outstanding safety recalls. Vehicle owners should contact their nearest dealer to schedule a no-cost repair.

 

In 2015, NHTSA imposed the largest civil penalty in its history for Takata’s violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and for the first time used its authority to accelerate recall repairs to millions of affected vehicles. Additional information about the Takata air bag inflator recall can be found on NHTSA's Safety Issues & Recalls page.

 

Additional driver safety tips and information are available by visiting the DMV and Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee websites.

 

###