Tens of thousands of vehicles recalled over faulty airbags. Here’s what you need to know

ATLANTA — A do-not-drive warning was issued Wednesday for tens of thousands of vehicles with faulty airbags.

But millions more have the same airbags that have been recalled but have not been replaced.

Shrapnel can eject from the airbags. The risk is higher in hot climates like Georgia and gets worse over time.

Video of an exploding Takata airbag shows how shrapnel from a ruptured canister tore through a testing chamber and a car seat where a driver would be.

“It is absolutely a ticking time bomb,” said Patrick Olsen, Carfax editor-in-chief.

A decade after the recall of the defective Takata airbags, Carfax says 6.4 million are still on the road.

Nearly 200,000 of those are here in Georgia, with 115,000 just in Atlanta. Each is potentially deadly.

But it’s a quick check to see if your car has one of the recalled airbags and then get it fixed for free.

“To check for recalls, absolutely free to get a recall fixed,” Olsen said.

Channel 2 Action News Investigates has been reporting on the dangers of faulty Takata airbags for more than a decade.

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In 2013 Brandi Brewer lost her left eye when her Takata airbag exploded on GA 400.

“I’m one of the few people that went through it and actually lived to tell the tale,” Brewer said.

On Wednesday, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, along with Nissan, announced a do not drive warning for 83,000 Nissan Sentra Nissan Pathfinders and Infiniti QX4s between 2002 and 2006.

Olsen said many Takata drivers may not have noticed, or if they purchased a used vehicle, may not have received a recall notice.

“These cars are on their second, third, fourth owner and it becomes difficult to track them down,” Olsen said.

You can check to see if your car has one of these recalled Takata airbags free of charge at Carfax or the NHTSA.

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Company won’t recall millions of exploding airbags. Federal regulators could issue it instead

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