Takata airbag recall: NHTSA says status of 9% unconfirmed

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it “cannot confirm the status” of the remaining 9% of more than 67 million recalled Takata airbags, or whether they remain on U.S. roads.

NHTSA told Repairer Driven News that according to its latest 2024 completion-rate estimates, 91% of the affected airbags had been replaced or were otherwise accounted for.

The Takata airbag inflator recall is the largest safety recall in automotive history and spans worldwide. Issues first came to light in 2008. Vehicles across more than 30 brands are equipped with the airbags, according to NHTSA.

NHTSA says the airbags have killed 28 people and caused at least 400 injuries in the U.S. It linked the 28th death to an incident that occurred in Alabama involving a Honda vehicle.

“NHTSA cannot confirm the status of the remaining 9% or if they remain on U.S. roads,” a NHTSA spokesperson told Repairer Driven News. “NHTSA encourages everyone to check for open recalls at nhtsa.gov or by downloading our SaferCar app. Anyone with an open Takata recall should follow any manufacturer warnings and call their vehicle’s dealership immediately to schedule a free repair.”

The chart below shows the net percentage of airbags remaining for replacement for priority groups 1–12. “Net” refers to the percent remaining from the total airbags count, according to NHTSA. NHTSA includes these groups because vehicle manufacturers have submitted verifiable underlying data.

The chart above specifies the percentage of dispositioned airbags, as approved by NHTSA, including stolen and scrapped vehicles and those exported from the U.S. jurisdiction, according to NHTSA. It also includes vehicles with aftermarket modifications, degraded to the point that the recall remedy cannot be completed, and those to which owners have been nonresponsive to or have affirmatively refused the recall remedy outreach.

The data in this chart begins in 2022 when NHTSA added several reporting categories: nonresponsive, affirmative refusal, aftermarket modification, and vehicle degradation. NHTSA must receive a request before a vehicle manufacturer can submit to these categories. NHTSA notes that not all vehicle manufacturers have been approved for or have requested inclusion in the categories.

Takata, a bankrupt parts supplier, was responsible for manufacturing airbag canisters in defective airbag inflators that can explode and spray sharp metal fragments toward the driver and passengers, comparable to shrapnel from an exploding grenade, which has caused severe injuries and deaths.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), propellant in the inflators breaks down after long-term exposure to high temperature fluctuations and humidity. This can cause the propellant to burn too quickly, creating too much pressure and leading to explosions.

As of Aug. 21, Honda says it has voluntarily removed over 535,000 inflators from salvage yards, and the effort continues. The OEM says it has also asked major online auction sites to prohibit and stop any sales of the affected airbags.

A separate group of defective Takata airbags was recalled in late 2019. According to NHTSA, unlike the airbag inflators in the larger Takata recalls, this recall involves non-azide driver inflators.

According to the latest Carfax data, 4.7 million vehicles equipped with recalled Takata airbags remain in the U.S.

Carfax says the number of vehicles on the road with the Takata airbags has dropped 20% from 6 million in 2024.

“Many automakers are working to find owners of vehicles that still have Takata airbags and finally get those airbags replaced,” Carfax states in its September recall tracker report. “Some are even sending teams out across the country to locate affected owners and provide help.

“Despite the drop in affected vehicles, nearly 5 million still need those Takata airbags replaced, and as they get older, they’re more likely to continue to change hands, which makes tracking down the owners more difficult. And some of those vehicles even have ‘do not drive’ orders.”

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