By Shereen Siewert
On a sunny September Saturday nearly four years ago, Jewel Brangman, a model and gymnastics coach preparing to pursue a PhD at Standford, rented a car in California and was driving north toward Los Angeles when she rear-ended a minivan.
The crash was minor. But on impact, Brangman’s air bag exploded with a spray of jagged metal shards that severed her carotid artery. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was placed on life support until she died, according to the Associated Press. She was 26.
Brangman’s death subsequently prompted her father to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Honda, the airbag manufacturer and the rental company of the vehicle she was driving, a 2001 Honda Civic.
Court records show the rental car came from Sunset Car Rentals, a small agency that had bought the vehicle at auction almost three years earlier, after it had been involved in a crash and was issued a salvage title. Though it had been under recall since 2009, Honda said it had mailed four recall notices without getting any response.
The massive recall of air bag inflaters made by Takata — which allegedly suppressed tests revealing the flaw and where three key executives are under federal indictment — is well known to Congress and millions of Americans who have been touched by it. But tens of thousands of drivers most at risk remain oblivious to the efforts of automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Takata air-bag inflaters degrade over time as they are exposed to humidity and repeated wide fluctuation in daily temperatures. That a car may change hands three or four times during its lifespan has made the recall more difficult, as notices from the car dealer or automaker typically wind up in the trash if they are sent to people who sold their vehicle years earlier.
The airbags in Brangman’s rental car, Alpha inflaters, were particularly susceptible, court documents allege. While most Takata inflaters go bad over time when exposed to temperature changes and humidity, the Alpha inflaters experienced high humidity at a Takata factory in Monclova, Mexico, even before they were installed.
In a 2015 response to Congress, Takata acknowledged that the propellant that triggers the air bags had “been left in work stations during a prolonged shutdown of the assembly line, exposing them to humidity inside the plant.”
The Alpha bags were installed in more than 1 million Honda and Acura cars between 2001 and 2003. They caused 11 of the 15 U.S. fatalities when their Takata inflaters ruptured.
Although there had been red flags warning that Takata air bags could be deadly — with fatal explosions in 2003 and 2004 — the first U.S. recall was initiated by Honda in 2008.
The 10 years that followed have been replete with allegations that Takata cut corners in a rush to fill orders and that the company sought to cover up tests that revealed the severity of the problem.
Takata, once a minor player in the air-bag industry, rose in popularity with automakers after devising a cost-cutting way to make air bags. Just a few years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, they used the same material that caused that explosion — ammonium nitrate — to trigger the air-bag inflaters when vehicles collide, according to the Washington Post.
Experts now say ammonium nitrate — unlike the relatively stable chemical tetrazole used by other manufacturers — can become unstable, particularly when it is exposed to moisture.
Takata found a ready market for its cheaper air bags, expanding rapidly to meet the demand of newly enticed automakers, including General Motors.
GM’s air-bag supplier had been the Swedish company Autoliv, but Autoliv dropped out of the competition presented by Takata because the company declined to use ammonium nitrate amid concerns over its stability. Autoliv’s decision to abandon the GM contract was first reported by the New York Times, as was the scenario that ultimately led to the charges filled against three Takata executives.
Then in 2004, a 2002 Honda Accord air bag exploded in Alabama. Takata assured Honda that the incident was an anomaly. But at the same time Takata began quietly testing dozens of air-bag inflaters collected from junkyards. Two out of 50 of them malfunctioned, investigators say. But Takata shut down the testing and told technicians to wipe the data from their computers, the New York Times reported.
The company denied to Congress that it had ever done the testing.
Years later, NHTSA said Takata was not “being forthcoming with information” or cooperating with the “investigation of a potentially serious safety defect.”
The Justice Department fined Takata $1 billion for that failure.
Under a consent order signed by Takata and NHTSA, John D. Buretta, a former Justice Department prosecutor, was named to prod the recall process. Buretta’s report last November described the Alpha bag as a grenade that could devastate a car — and its occupants — as if a bomb had exploded inside it.
“There has been, I’m glad to say, marked improvement,” he told the Senate Commerce Committee last month. “There is still much room for improvement .?.?. and much work to be done.”
Jewel Brangman’s father, Alexander Brangman, flew to Washington in March for the committee hearing.
“Jewel was the eighth victim at the time; now worldwide there’s 22,” Brangman told reporters afterward. “Not prohibiting ammonium nitrate being used in these bags is sinful. Unethical behavior is the underlying theme. For a life to be taken when something is preventable is unconscionable to me. They should find a way to stop using these vehicles, period.”
Meanwhile, the crashes keep coming. In December, a 17-year-old Texas driver was killed after a low-speed crash that police said she should have walked away from.
Huma Hanif died within a matter of seconds as the Takata airbag inflator inside the steering wheel of her 2002 Honda Civic exploded, launching shrapnel at her from mere feet away. A piece of metal cut her neck causing her to bleed to death within minutes.
In February, A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved a plan negotiated by Takata and its creditors to create a trust fund to compensate the victims of exploding airbag inflators. Automakers are giving up some monetary claims against Takata and agreeing to contribute $90 million to $137 million to the trust fund.
Is your vehicle safe?
Safercar.gov, a site maintained by the NHTSA, offers a VIN lookup tool that shows all safety recalls that have not been repaired on a specific vehicle in the past 15 years.
These vehicles are affected, according to Consumer Reports:
BMW
Affected owners in Florida, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico have been prioritized in this recall and will receive parts first. If you live in these regions, make sure to contact your local BMW dealer immediately to schedule an appointment to have your front driver and/or passenger airbag replaced. BMW recommends that no one sit in the front passenger seat until that airbag is replaced.
Recalled cars:
2008-2013 BMW 1 Series
2000-2013 BMW 3 Series
2002-2003 BMW 5 Series
2011-2015 BMW X1
2007-2010 BMW X3
2003-2013 BMW X5
2008-2014 BMW X6
2010-2011 BMW X6 Hybrid
Chrysler
Chrysler will notify the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM owners. Sterling and Mitsubishi owners will be notified by their respective companies. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. A notification schedule has not yet been provided, but FCA says that vehicles currently or previously registered in areas identified with high absolute humidity (Zone 1 areas) will be targeted first. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler’s number for this recall is S43.
Recalled cars:
Chrysler
2005-2015 Chrysler 300
2007-2009 Chrysler Aspen
2007-2008 Chrysler Crossfire
Dodge
2008-2014 Dodge Challenger
2006-2015 Dodge Charger
2005-2011 Dodge Dakota
2004-2009 Dodge Durango
2005-2008 Dodge Magnum
2003-2008 Dodge Ram 1500/2500/3500 Pickup
2005-2009 Dodge Ram 2500 Pickup
2007-2010 Dodge Ram 3500 Cab Chassis
2006-2009 Dodge Ram 3500 Pickup
Jeep
2007-2016 Jeep Wrangler
Ferrari
Ferrari will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag assembly, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Ferrari customer service at 1-866-551-2828. Ferrari’s number for this recall is 60.
Recalled cars:
2010-2015 Ferrari 458 Italia
2014-2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale
2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale A
2012-2015 Ferrari 458 Spider
2016-2017 Ferrari 488 GTB
2016-2017 Ferrari 488 Spider
2009-2014 Ferrari California
2015-2017 Ferrari California T
2013-2017 Ferrari F12
2016-2017 Ferrari F12 tdf
2016 Ferrari F60
2012-2016 Ferrari FF
2017 Ferrari GTC4Lusso
Ford
Contact your local Ford or Lincoln dealer to schedule an appointment to have the airbag replaced in affected vehicles. Visit the Ford Owner website to see if your vehicle is part of the recall.
Recalled cars:
Ford
2007-2010 Ford Edge
2006-2012 Ford Fusion
2005-2006 Ford GT
2005-2014 Ford Mustang
2004-2011 Ford Ranger
Lincoln
2007-2010 Lincoln MKX
2006-2012 Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ
Mercury
2006-2011 Milan
General Motors
Double check that your vehicle is actually involved. It was first announced that many Buicks, Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles were affected by the recall. It turns out that was an error in reporting by NHTSA. Most of those vehicles were part of an unrelated recall years ago.
Interestingly, the two remaining vehicles were actually produced by other automakers and rebranded under former GM makes: the 2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe (built alongside the Toyota Matrix) and the 2005 Saab 9-2x (a Subaru-built vehicle rebranded as a Saab). Both vehicles should be taken to a current GM dealership for repairs.
Recalled cars:
Cadillac
2007-2014 Cadillac Escalade
2007-2014 Cadillac Escalade ESV
2007-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT
Chevrolet
2007-2013 Chevrolet Avalanche
2007-2014 Chevrolet Silverado HD
2007-2013 Chevrolet Silverado LD
2007-2014 Chevrolet Suburban
2007-2014 Chevrolet Tahoe
GMC
2007-2014 GMC Sierra HD
2007-2013 GMC Sierra LD
2007-2014 GMC Yukon
2007-2014 GMC Yukon XL
Pontiac
2003-2010 Pontiac Vibe
Saab
2005-2006 Saab 9-2x
2006-2011 Saab 9-3
206-2009 Saab 9-5
Saturn
2008-2009 Saturn Astra
Honda
If you haven’t already, go to Honda’s recall site and enter your VIN. If your vehicle is included in this recall, the site will provide a description of the problem and instructions on how to proceed.
NHTSA has determined that certain model-year 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles have a much greater risk of ruptures during airbag deployment. In fact, nine of the first 11 Takata-related deaths in the U.S. were in Acura and Honda vehicles. These high-risk models are listed separately below.
If you have a vehicle that was first sold in, or is registered in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands—take immediate action. If you haven’t already received notice in the mail, print out the results of your VIN search and contact your nearest Honda dealer. They have allocated the replacement parts to these high humidity areas and will replace the part once you’ve made an appointment. Honda will be sending notices to other areas on a rolling basis as the parts become available.
Recalled cars:
Acura
2003 Acura 3.2CL
2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL
2013-2016 Acura ILX
2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid
2003-2006 Acura MDX
2007-2016 Acura RDX
2005-2012 Acura RL
2009-2014 Acura TL
2009-2014 Acura TSX
2010-2013 Acura ZDX
Honda
2001-2012 Honda Accord
2001-2011 Honda Civic
2003-2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
2001-2011 Honda Civic NGV
2010-2015 Honda Crosstour
2002-2011 Honda CR-V
2011-2015 Honda CR-Z
2003-2011 Honda Element
2010-2014 Honda FCX Clarity
2007-2013 Honda Fit
2013-2014 Honda Fit EV
2010-2014 Honda Insight
2002-2004 Honda Odyssey
2003-2015 Honda Pilot
2006-2014 Honda Ridgeline
2006-2010 Honda GL1800 Gold Wing (motorcycle)
High-Risk Models
2001-2002 Honda Civic
2001-2002 Honda Accord
2002-2003 Acura TL
2002 Honda CR-V
2002 Honda Odyssey
2003 Acura CL
2003 Honda Pilot
Jaguar/Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is recalling certain model years of the Jaguar XF originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Vehicles not originally sold or ever registered in these states are not subject to this safety recall. For more information, contact the Jaguar Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-452-4827 or the Land Rover customer center.
Recalled cars:
2009-2015 Jaguar XF
2007-2012 Land Rover Range Rover
Mazda
Owners should go to Mazda’s recall site (mazdarecallinfo.com) and enter the car’s VIN. If your vehicle is included in this recall, the site will provide a description of the problem and instructions on how to proceed. If the site indicates that repair parts are available, the appointment button on the site links to your local dealer so you can easily set up a repair appointment. There is no charge for this repair. NHTSA has determined that the age and location of a vehicle can increase the risk of rupture. Vehicles sold or ever registered in a high absolute humidity (HAH) area (Florida, Hawaii, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, and Virgin Islands) and/or Mazda vehicles 2003-2007 are considered high priority—immediate action should be taken. If you haven’t received a notice in the mail, print out the results of your VIN search and contact your nearest Mazda dealer. Replacement parts have been prioritized to the high humidity areas and dealers will replace the part once you’ve made an appointment. The recall includes all states and Mazda will be sending notices to areas on a rolling basis as parts become available.
Recalled cars:
2004-2009 Mazda B-Series
2007-2012 Mazda CX-7
2007-2015 Mazda CX-9
2003-2011 Mazda6
2006-2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed6
2004-2006 Mazda MPV
2004-2011 Mazda RX-8
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz uses Takata driver-side and passenger-side airbags in many vehicles and, is recalling vehicles which use the affected airbags. Should owners need additional assistance, visit www.mbusa.com, and use the “Email/Write” section under Customer Support, or call 877-496-3691.
Recalled cars:
2005-2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2010-2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2011-2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabrio
2010-2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe
2009-2012 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
2010-2015 Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
2009-2010 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class
2009-2012 Mercedes-Benz R-Class
2007-2008 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
2011-2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS-Class
Mitsubishi
If you see that your car as part of this recall, Mitsubishi advises owners to act immediately in scheduling an appointment to replace it. If the dealer does not have the part yet, they will provide instructions on how best to proceed until the part is available.
Recalled cars:
2012-2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEV
2004-2007 Mitsubishi Lancer
2004-2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback
2006-2009 Mitsubishi Raider
Nissan
Nissan has notified or will be notifying owners of affected vehicles to bring their vehicle in for inspection and potential parts replacement. Extra attention is being paid to “some areas” of Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, but the recall covers every state, the District of Columbia, and some American territories.
Recalled cars:
Infiniti
2003-2008 Infiniti FX
2001 Infiniti I30
2002-2004 Infiniti I35
2006-2010 Infiniti M
2002-2003 Infiniti QX4
Nissan
2001-2003 Nissan Maxima
2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder
2002-2006 Nissan Sentra
2007-2012 Nissan Versa
Subaru
Call your local Subaru dealer and schedule an appointment to have the airbag replaced. There is no wait for parts to arrive and no special emphasis on localized climates or regions. Because second owners may not know where the previous owner of their vehicle lived/drove, Subaru does not want to focus on any particular region.
Recalled cars:
2003-2006 Subaru Baja
2009-2013 Subaru Forester
2004-2011 Subaru Impreza (Including WRX/STI)
2003-2014 Subaru Legacy
2003-2014 Subaru Outback
2006-2014 Subaru Tribeca
2012-2014 Subaru WRX/STI
Toyota
Immediate action is recommended if your vehicle registered in the coastal areas around the Gulf of Mexico, including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Or if the car is in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.
When the parts become available, owners will be notified by mail to bring their vehicle in for the proper fix.
Finally, if you are uncomfortable driving your vehicle to the dealership to have the work performed, contact your local Toyota dealer, and they will arrange to have the vehicle picked up.
Recalled cars:
Lexus
2007-2012 Lexus ES350
2010-2017 Lexus GX460
2006-2013 Lexus IS250/350
2010-2015 Lexus IS250C/350C
2008-2014 Lexus IS F
2012 Lexus LFA
2002-2010 Lexus SC430
Scion
2008-2015 Scion xB
Toyota
2010-2016 Toyota 4Runner
2003-2013 Toyota Corolla
2003-2008 Toyota Corolla Matrix
2009-2013 Toyota Matrix
2004-2005 Toyota Rav4
2002-2006 Toyota Sequoia
2011-2014 Toyota Sienna
2003-2006 Toyota Tundra
2006-2011 Toyota Yaris (Hatchback)
2007-2012 Toyota Yaris (Sedan)
Volkswagen/Audi
Recalled cars:
Audi
2006-2013 Audi A3
2005-2008 Audi A4 Avant
2006-2009 Audi A4 Cabriolet
2005-2008 Audi A4 Sedan
2010-2011 Audi A5 Cabriolet
2003-2011 Audi A6 Avant
2005-2011 Audi A6 Sedan
2009-2012 Audi Q5
2017 Audi R8
2008 Audi RS 4 Cabriolet
2007-2008 Audi RS 4 Sedan
2005-2008 Audi S4 Avant
2007-2009 Audi S4 Cabriolet
2005-2008 Audi S4 Sedan
2010-2012 Audi S5 Cabriolet
2007-2011 Audi S6 Sedan
2016-2017 Audi TT
Volkswagen
2009-2017 Volkswagen CC
2010-2014 Volkswagen Eos
2010-2014 Volkswagen Golf
2013 Volkswagen Golf R
2009-2013 Volkswagen GTI
2012-2014 Volkswagen Passat
2006-2010 Volkswagen Passat Sedan
2006-2010 Volkswagen Passat Wagon
