If you own a car made between 2002 and 2008, you might need new air bags.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an agreement with the Japanese company Takata that doubled the number of cars it will recall due to the potential of faulty air bags. The first Takata air bag recall came in 2008, and the number of cars affected has been expanding since then. A total of 33.8 million cars and trucks, made by 11 manufacturers, have been affected by the expanded recall.
Six deaths and more than 100 injuries have been attributed to the defect. Basically, if the air bag bursts apart during a crash, metal shards could be sent throughout the interior of the car.
If you want to find out if your vehicle is among those recalled, you can enter its Vehicle Identification Number or make and model here and find out if there are any open safety-related recalls affecting the vehicle. If you have questions, you can call the NHTSA safety hotline: 1-888-327-4236.
The NHTSA has published this list of the car models affected by the Takata air bag recall:
BMW
2000-2005 3 Series Sedan
2000-2006 3 Series Coupe
2000-2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
2000-2006 3 Series Convertible
2001-2006 M3 Coupe
2001-2006 M3 Convertible
Chrysler
2003-2008 Dodge Ram 1500
2005-2008 Dodge Ram 2500
2006-2008 Dodge Ram 3500
2006-2008 Dodge Ram 4500
2008 Dodge Ram 5500
2005-2008 Dodge Durango
2005-2008 Dodge Dakota
2005-2008 Chrysler 300
2007-2008 Chrysler Aspen
Ford
2004 Ranger
2005-2006 GT
2005-2007 Mustang
General Motors
2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe
2005 Saab 9-2X
Honda
2001-2007 Honda Accord
2001-2002 Honda Accord
2001-2005 Honda Civic
2002-2006 Honda CR-V
2003-2011 Honda Element
2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
2003-2007 Honda Pilot
2006 Honda Ridgeline
2003-2006 Acura MDX
2002-2003 Acura TL/CL
2005-Acura RL
Mazda
2003-2007 Mazda6
2006-2007 MazdaSpeed6
2004-2008 RX-8
2004-2005 MPV
2004 B-Series Truck
Mitsubishi
2004-2005 Lancer
2006-2007 Raider
Nissan
2001-2003 Nissan Maxima
2001-2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002-2004 Nissan Sentra
2001-2004 Infiniti I30/I35
2002-2003 Infiniti QX4
2003-2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45
Subaru
2003-2005 Baja
2003-2005 Legacy
2003-2005 Outback
2004-2005 Impreza
Toyota
2002-2005 Lexus SC
2002-2005 Toyota Corolla
2003-2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2002-2005 Toyota Sequoia
2003-2005 Toyota Tundra
