Honda and Toyota are practically begging consumers to find out if their airbags are under recall.
Out of the 42 million Takata airbags under recall, nearly 16 million are still on the roads.
Executives at Toyota said they’re not taking this lightly.
The defective airbags have already claimed the lives of 15 people in the U.S., injuring nearly 300.
"These inflators can over pressure when the airbag deploys, and the inflator assembly can actually rupture and shoot shrapnel into the cabin," said Tim Trisdale, Toyota’s VP of Product Quality.
He said one of the biggest problems they’re facing is awareness.
"Some people don’t realize that a recall repair is a free repair at the dealership," Trisdale said.
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It’s a problem that Honda is also facing with its customers. The automaker is now scanning license plates around the country to see if the vehicle has been recalled and repaired.
Toyota is also taking extra measures.
"We’ll even tow or come and pick up the vehicle if necessary to get you in and get the vehicle repaired," Trisdale explained.
Here in North Texas, he said there are 22,000 vehicles that are of grave concern. They include certain Toyota, Lexus and Scion models in priority groups 1-3.
"Based and the age of these inflators and the markets they’re in, that’s 22,000 that we need in Dallas right now," he said.
Toyota told us it has plenty of parts for its customers.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now pushing carmakers to make their Takata airbag repair plans public, saying in part, "It is imperative that manufacturers take every available step to reach each and every owner of a vehicle with deadly air bags, and take action to ensure that those dangerous air bags are replaced as soon as is safely possible."
Trisdale and executives at Toyota say they will do everything they can to get defective Takata airbags off the roads.
"We need you to come in," he said.
If you’ve tried to get your airbag replaced, but the dealership is telling you they’re out of parts, you are not alone. There are some carmakers who are still waiting for their parts to come in. If that’s case, ask for a loaner car.
When we reported on a parts shortage with Fords, the company agreed to provide a loaner car to customers still waiting on parts.
If you’re not sure if your car is under recall, check today.
You can visit safercar.gov and enter your vin. There’s also and app called Airbag Recall.
