Prompted by a recent death in South Carolina, federal regulators have recalled five million vehicles with defective Takata air bags, which have injured more than 100 U.S. drivers.
The brands recalled include Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes Benz.
NPR’s Sonari Glinton reported on what happened: “It was an accident in a Ford Ranger that killed the ninth person in the U.S. because of faulty airbags that explode and send sharp metal pieces flying at drivers.”
In one of the largest such actions in history, 24 million vehicles equipped with the Japanese company’s air bags have been recalled in the United States.
Rebecca Lindland with Kelley Blue Book said consumers are getting complacent about recalls.
“I know it’s a pain, I know everyone is busy but we have to make sure the cars and trucks on the road are safe,” she said. “And that your family is safe, and that’s the purpose of the recall.”
Drivers can determine if their vehicles are effected by this or any other recall at safercar.gov.
As we previously reported, Takata was fined $200 million last year, in what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called their largest fine in history.
9(MDA3MTA1NDEyMDEyOTkyNTU3NzQ2ZGYwZg004))