Takata Airbag Recalls - Let's Keep TW Informed

I'm not seeing anything about the HUGE Takata airbag recall that's affecting more cars than I can count. This is not a Toyota or GM issue, but rather everyone. Or most at least.

I don't see Tacomas in the list of affected vehicles, but it's wise to stay alert because they might come up in the list very soon.

Please use this thread to post any information you may have. Here are the articles I have read about it so far:

http://blog.caranddriver.com/takata...-not-sit-here-stickers-affixed-to-dashboards/

Jalopnik: http://jalopnik.com/gm-tells-consumers-to-stop-letting-people-ride-in-some-1649281546

There are more, but these give the gist of what's going on. Sounds like an UGLY situation.

 

This article has a list. So far, no Tacoma on the list. But the Tundra is there.

http://www.wxyz.com/money/auto-news...rs-of-61-million-vehicles-of-air-bag-problems

 

Thanks KB,

I saw this last night on TV.

Takata is saying now that it may be a humidity issue,
as the recalls are mostly for southern latitude states.

It gets way humid in NC, but no recalls yet in this state,
so go figure...sounds like corporate posturing to me.
I've heard of no Airbag issues in NC though.

 

Wow don't people do any research and development anymore? Or is it let's purchase the cheapest shit we can to capitalize on the profits and screw as many consumers as possible? Human life seems to not mean anything to anyone anymore. Just money money money.

 

this is not a matter of cheapest shit available this is a chemical blending problem. a recipe was not followed to spec, or got out of spec and no one noticed.

the bags ARE tested by lot, and perform perfectly at time of testing.

The chemical propellant that deploys the bags in a crash was improperly handled during manufacture, and the danger is amplified by humidity.

 

So are you saying that higher humidity makes the propellant
more volatile/unstable or less?...seems like it would be less?

and what is causing the bag to send out shrapnel bits?

?

 

I saw this on the local news the other night. They are only recalling in some southern states where high humidity plays a role. What doesn't make sense is that the states where a couple of people were killed by this defect are not included in the recall. Also, I'm in CT and we have plenty of humidity in the summer, maybe not like southern states but still.

 

Human being are opportunists just like the animal kingdom. People take advantage/abuse of power all the time around the world. It's all about Greed. I'm glad we still have some policies to keep crooks under the surface. Make untested/ cheap air bags and make some profits

 

There are tons of research and development done. The issues come with mass production, just like anything else. There is no way to mass produce ANY product, and it be 100% perfect. Lots of products pass testing just fine, but then when the product is mass produced, certain things crop up with problems. For example, I build bearings all the time. I use parts from Dorman that are just fine. HOWEVER there could always be a situation where the casting of the steel may have an issue, where it doesn't happen to cool perfectly well. May not see it now, but after the hubs are cut and shipped, there may be a crack in say 100,000 hubs from one batch of steel. Eventually they might start fracturing due to a defective metal cast. Tons of research is done before hand, but sometimes things happen when mass produced.

Back to the specifics, I don't agree that the recall should be limited to the south. Hell, lots of people who live up north TRAVEL down south for vacations. This would bring humidity into factor there, right? So ALL airbags in the affected batch(es) should be recalled, not just the south. Now maybe BEGIN in the south, and then work north, but ALL vehicles with these airbags should be investigated/recalled.

 

How can only replacing airbags in the south be a reasonable decision? I guess northern vehicle owners with Takata airbags will not go south for fear of killing a passenger in their vehicle. This is a bad deal.

 

I think the issue of issuing the recall in high humidity states is based more on "starting out" than anything.

See, I don't think these guys have a complete solution or even enough stock and manpower to supply new airbags to all these cars, even just the ones from the high humidity states. But they have to start somewhere.

Regardless, this is a big issue and we need to get as informed as possible.

 

As usual, Bill is making a lot of sense. Thanks man.

This too makes sense...and I feel the list of affected vehicles will grow as time goes on. It is a big issue, and I appreciate your starting this thread.

 

This. It's all about the stock value, double digit grow per quarter, and keeping the investors happy.

 

@MQQSE - Thanks, I was actually quite shocked when I showed up here looking for info on this recall and didn't find any specific thread about it.

I received a recall letter about the tires (but they don't apply) to my truck. I'm waiting also to see what happens with the leaf-spring issue and if it's going to cover 2013 and up.

Finally, with this issue, if it ends up affecting gen 2 Tacomas, it might be better to run without an airbag than have a potentially lethal airbag in front of you. This of course, until they come up with a definite solution. Don't take this as advice. Everyone should do what they consider best for them.

 

Considering turning my passenger side off (with the key on the dash) for the time being until more information comes forward. This is a weird situation for sure.

 

I would not want the job of changing the passenger bag on a generation 1 Tacoma. Done it twice so far, once removing the entire dash and once with out. Next time the job is gonna get a lighter put to it.

KO

 

I worked for Takata for 11 years making airbag inflators in Ga. They decided to save money and move the 7 assembly lines to Mexico for cheap labor. When they asked me to go to Mexico and set up and train the people there I refused, I told them I would not train anyone that was taking my job from me. When I left I was very good friends with a lot of Managers and Engineers there and one sent me a video of the plant that was built in Monclova Mexico exploding do to poor handling of the gas generating material. Shortly after the move I was told by friends that Honda and BMW refused all parts from Mexico and I found out that Takata kept an office open in Ga. to accept parts from Mexico and re-label them with barcodes and tracking info that showed the items were assembled in Ga. until they could sell the move to Honda and BMW.

There are many other bad stories I could tell you about what went on in Mexico before that plant started producing full time but I would be typing a book.

All I can say is when the parts were manufactured in Ga. there were lot testing every 100 to 150 parts to ensure proper operation and if a part failed in any way the entire lot was put on hold and tested rigorously to ensure the inflators were safe. We did a lot of development and testing there as well. When I started there it was a joint venture of Takata and Byern Chemie and German automotive airbag group. Byern Chemie's Engineers made the plant in Ga. successful with the quality standards and testing to ensure a quality part was to be made. After years of bickering back and forth about quality, testing, funding Takata bought out Byern Chemie's portion.

Funny thing is we were selling inflators to all of the automotive manufacturers for anywhere between $35 to $55 a piece and you pay anywhere from $1200 to $2000 for one. We were producing 3500 to 4000 in 8 hours. We had 7 assembly lines capable of making multiple types with different deployment characteristics for various car manufacturers.\

 

Dayum!
This is like the old Paul Harvey "rest of the story" ... this is serious shtuff going down.

Thanks for filling us in Ron.