8 Key Questions About Takata Bankruptcy and Ongoing Airbag Recall – Consumer Reports
8 Key Questions About Takata Bankruptcy and Ongoing Airbag Recall
Takata’s bankruptcy filing Monday doesn’t mean consumers still waiting for the replacement of potentially life-threatening airbags will be forgotten, say experts and automakers.
Takata plans to sell its main assets for $1.6 billion to U.S.-based Key Safety Systems but is keeping its controversial airbag operations until it completes the recall. Takata airbags have been blamed in eleven driver and passenger deaths in the U.S. As the bags inflate violently during accidents, some have sprayed metal shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
Owners of millions of vehicles, tooled with twenty six million of those dangerous Takata airbags, have been waiting months, even years, for them to be substituted.
Will the process switch under the bankruptcy? Consumer Reports talked to many of the players involved. Below are answers to eight key questions about the bankruptcy and ongoing airbag recall.
Will the Takata Bankruptcy Filing Stop Me From Getting My Replacement Airbags?
“No,” Takata said Monday in a statement.
Those replacements should happen in the same time framework as before. Takata plans to maintain control of the airbag business and not slow production until the request for replacement airbags has been met. It might take years to get all of the 42.6 million replacement airbags produced and installed into affected vehicles.
For many consumers who know they need a replacement airbag, the delays have only made their anxiety worse.
In early 2016, MJ Anderson and her hubby John were told that the two thousand fifteen Mercedes-Benz Sprinter RV they’d purchased and renovated to be their retirement home on wheels was part of the Takata recall. More than a year later, and still waiting for the van to be immobilized, Anderson says the entire process has been fraught with fear and frustration.
Because fever and humidity have been found to exacerbate the potential of affected Takata airbags to catastrophically fail, drivers in southern states have been given top priority.
“Automakers should react to the bankruptcy by committing to ensure all affected consumers, especially those at greatest risk, will get replacement airbags quickly regardless of Takata’s financial situation,” he says.
Automakers have the ultimate responsibility to make sure the defective airbags are substituted, said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader.com. Takata was the supplier, and the industry has already stepped in to contract with other airbag manufacturers to make more replacements. That may increase depending on what happens with Takata, Krebs said.
“It’s fairly possible that the automakers will have to pony up and subsidize production of Takata replacement airbags,” Krebs said. “It’s their names on the cars.”
Consumers should talk to their dealers and get their cars immovable at no charge, Krebs said. If parts aren’t instantaneously available, get on a list for the dealer to call you when they are available. It pays to keep checking back, she said.
Does the Bankruptcy Mean Takata Is Closing Its Doors?
Most likely not. A Michigan company, Key Safety Systems Inc., says it has agreed to buy the majority of Takata assets for $1.6 billion, except for the airbag operations. Key, a one-time petite independent equipment manufacturer, is possessed by Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., a global automotive supplier.
What If I’m Waiting on a Replacement Bag for My Replacement Bag?
An estimated twenty six million airbags still need to be substituted. But early in the Takata crisis, some owners received airbags from the company that were newer than the ones they substituted, but they still had some of the same issues with their inflators that caused the older airbags to be defective. The thought was, better to be using airbags that were newer and possibly less prone to malfunction. Those replacement airbags eventually need to be substituted.
“Honda now uses recall replacement parts from alternative suppliers, not Takata, and we now have sufficient inventory of those inflators to proceed recall repairs on all affected Honda and Acura models without any significant delay,” Honda spokesman Chris Martin said Monday.
How Many Airbags Still Need to Be Substituted?
Of the twenty six million airbags that still need to be substituted, about sixteen million have already been substituted, tho’ some of those needed to be substituted several times. These airbags use ammonium nitrate-based propellant without a chemical drying agent to explode and inflate the airbag in an accident. Officials believe that environmental moisture, high temperatures, and decay over time can lead to an airbag being improperly inflated, creating a stronger than expected ignition, and even pumping out shrapnel into the car’s cabin.
Will My Dealer Give Me a Loaner While I Wait for a Fresh Airbag?
It depends. Some consumers have joined class-action lawsuits to attempt to get compensation. One suit, brought on behalf of BMW, Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota owners, reached a preliminary settlement in early June. Under the terms of that settlement, members of that class would get cash payments and loaner cars until replacement parts become available. (The deal still has to be approved by a judge this fall.)
What Happens to the Pending Lawsuits Against Takata?
Many consumers are taking part in class-action lawsuits, seeking compensation for their inconvenience and perhaps loaner cars while waiting for replacement airbags to become available.
One case resulted in a preliminary settlement to accelerate the replacement of airbag inflators for 15.8 million Toyota, Subaru, BMW, and Mazda vehicles. The four automakers agreed to pay $553 million collectively to fund an outreach program to make more consumers aware of the recall, increase replacement rates, compensate consumers for inconvenience, and to make rental cars available. A final approval hearing will be held in October.
“We do not expect a Takata bankruptcy to have an influence on claims pending against auto manufacturer defendants for their role in the airbag scandal,” said Peter Prieto, the lead counsel in the lawsuit.
Other class deeds are pending against Honda, Ford, Nissan, as well as Takata, “to make sure all affected consumers receive the recourse they deserve,” Prieto said.
The three automakers said they did not want to comment specifically on the bankruptcy filing. A Toyota spokesman said the company was “continuing to track and evaluate the situation.”
How Come My Car Is Included in the Recall but the Dealership Won’t Fix It Today?
Because of the unprecedented scale of the Takata recall, it will take years to make enough replacement airbags. Regulators sorted vehicles into different categories based on age and geographic region. Vehicles with older airbags in the greatest, most humid parts of the country were given the highest priority. Newer models in colder states are last.
Will the Federal Government Step In to Help Drivers Waiting for Fresh Airbags?
In a statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is managing the recall, said that bankruptcy doesn’t end a manufacturer’s recall responsibilities under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
The agency stepped in at earlier stages of the recall to get Takata to cooperate with other manufacturers to increase the supply of replacement airbags.
