BREAKING: NHTSA Issues Emergency Notice for Certain Takata Airbag-Equipped Vehicles; Rupture Rate is 50 Percent

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration broke from its orderly recall of potentially dangerous Takata airbags today to warn drivers of certain 2001–2003 Honda and Acura models.

New tests show a certain subset of the faulty airbags, linked to 14 deaths worldwide, have a much higher risk of exploding in the event of an accident — a likelihood of up to 50 percent. The NHTSA is urging owners of these vehicles to avoid driving them.

Because of the age of the models, the agency issued an appeal to the public to help track down unrepaired vehicles.

The affected models are: 2001–2002 Honda Civic and Accord, 2002–2003 Acura TL, 2002 Honda CR-V, 2002 Honda Odyssey, 2003 Acura CL, and 2003 Honda Pilot.

The list comprises about 313,000 vehicles which came from the factory with a manufacturing defect in their airbag inflators. These models were recalled for the defect between 2008 and 2011, but only 70 percent of the vehicles actually returned to be fixed.

According to the NHTSA: “Ruptures are far more likely in inflators in vehicles that spent significant periods of time in areas of high absolute humidity — particularly Florida, Texas and other parts of the Gulf Coast. By comparison, testing performed on similarly aged recalled Takata inflators that do not have the same manufacturing defect shows rupture rates at less than one percent.”

Using uncharacteristically dire language, the NHTSA stated, “The risk posed by the airbag inflators in these vehicles is grave, and it is critical they be repaired now to avoid more deaths and serious injuries.”

The agency asks for the public and the media’s help in finding the remaining vehicles, and urges owners to visit SaferCar.gov to check whether their vehicle underwent the earlier recall.

Roughly 70 million Takata airbag inflators have so far been recalled, though these models are an urgent priority. Studies show that time, temperature and humidity degrades the ammonium nitrate propellant inside the inflators, which can cause the airbags to explode during a crash and send shrapnel into the vehicle’s occupants.