The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is urging owners of certain BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota vehicles to take immediate action and replace defective Takata airbags. Vehicle owners receiving regional recalls are especially urged to get the problem taken care of, as consistent hot and humid conditions are suspect to intensify the problem. These areas include: Florida, Puerto Rico, areas in Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Guam, as well as Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii.

According to the recall report filed with the NHTSA, vehicles may have been equipped with air bag inflators which may have been assembled improperly. The airbags could rupture and launch metal fragments, causing serious injury to occupants. The recall includes originally installed airbags as well as replacements installed as service parts.

Owners should periodically check to see if their vehicles are affected by this defect as manufacturers continue to add VIN’s to their database. Once owners receive recall notices, they are advised to carefully follow the enclosed instructions.

The problem has affected millions of vehicles from many automobile manufacturers. Below is the most recent list of vehicles affected by the airbag defect.

BMW: 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan
• 2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe
• 2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon
• 2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible
• 2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe
• 2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible

Chrysler: 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2003 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500
• 2005 – 2008 Dodge Ram 2500
• 2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 3500
• 2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500
• 2008 – Dodge Ram 5500
• 2005 – 2008 Dodge Durango
• 2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota
• 2005 – 2008 Chrysler 300
• 2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen

Ford: 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2004 – Ranger
• 2005 – 2006 GT
• 2005 – 2007 Mustang

General Motors: undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe
• 2005 – Saab 9-2X

Honda: 5,051,364 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2001 – 2007 Honda Accord)
• 2001 – 2002 Honda Accord
• 2001 – 2005 Honda Civic
• 2002 – 2006 Honda CR-V
• 2003 – 2011 Honda Element
• 2002 – 2004 Honda Odyssey
• 2003 – 2007 Honda Pilot
• 2006 – Honda Ridgeline
• 2003 – 2006 Acura MDX
• 2002 – 2003 Acura TL/CL
• 2005 – Acura RL

Mazda: 64,872 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2003 – 2007 Mazda6
• 2006 – 2007 MazdaSpeed6
• 2004 – 2008 Mazda RX-8
• 2004 – 2005 MPV
• 2004 – B-Series Truck

Mitsubishi: 11,985 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2004 – 2005 Lancer
• 2006 – 2007 Raider

Nissan: 694,626 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2001 – 2003 Nissan Maxima
• 2001 – 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
• 2002 – 2004 Nissan Sentra
• 2001 – 2004 Infiniti I30/I35
• 2002 – 2003 Infiniti QX4
• 2003 – 2005 Infiniti FX35/FX45

Subaru: 17,516 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2003 – 2005 Baja
• 2003 – 2005 Legacy
• 2003 – 2005 Outback
• 2004 – 2005 Impreza

Toyota: 877,000 total number of potentially affected vehicles

• 2002 – 2005 Lexus SC
• 2002 – 2005 Toyota Corolla
• 2003 – 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix
• 2002 – 2005 Toyota Sequoia
• 2003 – 2005 Toyota Tundra