The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Tuesday that the 28th death related to the ongoing Takata airbag recall, which has spanned over 15 years, has been confirmed.

Honda reported this particular death, which happened in 2018, but was only recently linked to a defective Takata airbag. The incident took place in Alabama involving a Honda vehicle equipped with one of these faulty inflators.

Of the confirmed fatalities, Honda stated that 20 occurred due to driver’s front airbag inflators provided by Takata, along with 200 injuries reported. As of now, Honda has replaced around 16.9 million Takata inflators, which is roughly 95% of those already identified.

With the widespread nature of the recall, Honda notes that it has also resulted in fatalities in countries such as Brazil, China, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Thailand due to ruptures. Consequently, both Honda and the NHTSA recommend that anyone with a recalled vehicle has it repaired promptly.

“Honda continues to urge owners of affected Honda and Acura vehicles to have their cars repaired at an authorized dealership as soon as possible,” the company emphasized in a statement. “Replacement parts are currently available for all affected Honda and Acura models, with repairs provided free of charge at authorized dealerships.”

Takata Airbag Recall Details

In total, there are about 67 million Takata airbags involved in recalls affecting numerous vehicles in the United States, as reported by the NHTSA. The agency has confirmed 28 deaths and at least 400 injuries linked to the explosion of Takata airbags since 2009.

The issue specifically involves the airbag inflators, which can deteriorate over time due to prolonged exposure to heat and humidity, resulting in airbags possibly exploding when deployed. This malfunction increases the risk of serious injury or death from the metal shrapnel produced.

The NHTSA warns that even minor collisions can lead to improper airbag deployment, which can result in fatal or severe injuries.

Which Vehicles Are Affected?

The NHTSA is actively maintaining a list of recalls for vehicles involving Takata airbags from major manufacturers. This list may not cover everything and can change, so car owners are encouraged to utilize the NHTSA’s recall lookup tool for information specific to their vehicle.

The recalls include many popular car brands recognized in the U.S., such as:

• Acura (Honda)
• Audi (VW)
• BMW
• Cadillac (GM)
• Chevrolet (GM)
• Chrysler
• Daimler Trucks North America (Sterling Bullet)
• Daimler Vans USA LLC (Sprinter)
• Dodge/Ram (Chrysler)
• Ferrari
• Fisker (Karma)
• Ford
• GMC (GM)
• Honda
• Infiniti (Nissan)
• Jaguar
• Jeep (Chrysler)
• Land Rover (Jaguar Land Rover)
• Lexus (Toyota)
• Lincoln (Ford)
• Mazda
• McLaren
• Mercedes-Benz
• Mercury (Ford)
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Pontiac (GM)
• Saab (GM)
• Saturn (GM)
• Scion (Toyota)
• Subaru
• Tesla
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

There were also two separate smaller recalls in 2019 and 2020 pertaining to Takata airbags manufactured with defective non-azide driver inflators (NADI), potentially leading to airbags either exploding or failing to deploy correctly.

This more limited recall included:

BMW recalls (108,581 vehicles)

• 1999-2001: 323i, 325i, 328i, 330i
• 2000-2001: 323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci, 330Ci, 323iT, 325iT
• BMW Do Not Drive recall (7,910 vehicles)
• NHTSA recall number 19V851
• 1999: Certain 323i and 328i vehicles
• BMW has identified around 8,000 of its recalled vehicles as high-risk, advising owners to refrain from driving them until repairs are completed.

Toyota recalls (138,842 vehicles)

• 1997-1998: Supra
• 1998-1999: RAV4 EV, Celica
• 1998-2000: RAV4

Audi recalls (169,669 vehicles)

• 1998-2000: A6
• 1999: A8
• 1999-2002: A4
• 2000-2001: TT COUPE
• 2000-2001: TT ROADSTER
• 2000-2002: S4

Honda recalls (2,376,671 vehicles)

• 1996-2000: Honda Civic Coupe
• 1997-1998: Acura 2.2CL, Honda EV Plus
• 1997-1999: Acura 3.0CL
• 1997-2001: Honda CR-V
• 1998-1999: Acura 2.3CL
• 1998-2000: Honda Accord Coupe, Honda Accord Sedan, Honda Civic Sedan
• 1998-2001: Honda Odyssey
• 1998-2003: Acura 3.5RL
• 1999-2001: Acura 3.2TL
• 2001-2002: Acura MDX, Acura 3.2CL
• Isuzu recalls (included in Honda’s filing)
• 1998-1999: Isuzu Oasis

Mitsubishi recalls (20,000 vehicles)

• 1998-2000: Montero