Recently, the media informed about the unstable ammonium nitrate found in Takata airbags. The substance becomes so dangerous that it explodes causing shrapnel to fly out of the airbag. The shrapnel can impale unsuspecting passengers causing traumatic brain injury, facial damage, internal bleeding and even death to the driver and anyone in the vehicle. However, Toyota, which is one of the 14 companies that sell vehicles with the defective airbag isn’t treating the situation with the seriousness it deserves.
In May, Toyota recalled 1.6 million vehicles possessing the dangerous airbags. However, Toyota did not supply any replacement parts to fix the cars. In fact, the company told car owners that any repairs could take a least six months to complete. This leaves millions of defective and dangerous cars still on the road.
This exact situation happened to Carole B. Black when she brought her Lexus into the dealership in compliance with the recall. Instead of being supplied a loaner vehicle while waiting for the parts, Toyota informed her to not have anyone ride in the front passenger seat. This is dangerously wrong. When the airbag explodes, it releases shrapnel to anyone in the vehicle regardless of location.
These airbags have already killed at least 10 people and injured 140. These numbers will double if Toyota continues to not fix the problem and give erroneous information. These airbags are not a simple inconvenience; they are a deadly threat to anyone in the vehicle.