Widening Takata airbag recall

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jray3

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
1,868
Location
Tacoma area, WA
I see that 2012 Tesla Model S airbags by Takata are now being recalled.
http://insideevs.com/tesla-begins-sending-out-takata-airbag-recall-notices-to-model-s-owners/
Who made our airbags?
There's still no recall listed for the airbags themselves on NHTSA, though we've been through the airbag sensor and software recalls.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2012/MITSUBISHI/IMIEV/5%252520HB/RWD#recalls
 
Looks like all iMiEV airbags are recalled too

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/takata-airbag-recall-a-list-of-cars/ar-BBrTSTu?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Don
 
Thanks Don,

I ran my VIN on www.safercar.gov and still get no recall, will stay tuned.

The question arises regarding other airbags. We've got six of 'em in total, after all. If Takata used the same propellant technology in side curtain airbags, they could throw shrapnel too.
 
I received a Carfax notice of recall today. Was later advised by Mark Mitsubishi that they had no replacement at the moment. I'm also not sure what Mitsu would replace it with or who would supply it to them.

See also: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/mitsubishi-recalls-i-miev-vehicles-012517.html
 
Many Mitsubishi products will be recalled on this issue. Like Don I used the VIN look up and came up empty. But if you go further and use the make model and year look up we are listed. The explanation is that gathering the VIN data and putting it in the data base takes time. Just last year we did the Takata airbag recall service on the 2005 Honda civic which we no longer own. The inflator was replaced with a newer manufacture date inflator identical to the one taken out. This is a time and environment sensitive degradation of the inflator chemistry that causes the explosions of the inflators. the chemicals burn too fast after degrading sufficiently. Looking further this is what is happening for most of the replacements and the scope of defective inflators is massive because Takata is such a large volume supplier. So older vehicles will be recalled first and the rate of replacement is limited by supply. Non Takata or revised chemistry Takata in the numbers required are yet to come online from info available on this issue. Although there are some inaccuracies in this article it is a good overview. Looks like all years on IMiev will be recalled for the air bag inflator (second link).

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2016/05/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-takata-air-bag-recall/index.htm

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2012/MITSUBISHI/IMIEV/5%252520HB/RWD#recalls

Aerowhatt
 
I received the 'Safety Recall' notice today for both cars - It's for the passenger side airbag and not the drivers though. Time required to do the change is only 0.5 hours

Since my closest iMiEV certified dealer is now 100 miles away, I'll have to get with Mitsu (again) and see if they're willing to pay to get the cars there somehow. The last two recalls were not 'safety related' and they refused any assistance in getting those done, so I've got lots of things that need to be accomplished now - If I do have to pay to get them there, at least I'll be killing three birds (6 actually) with one stone! :lol:

Don
 
Thanks to Aerowhatt for that excellent explanation. I would've been more comfortable with early notice from Mitsu saying that the car is part of a recall occurring in several phases, with older cars being taken care of first, and that if we have any special considerations (like a carport with a tropical ocean view), to call their hotline.

Don, if your first car hadn't been garaged all this time, I'd be concerned about accelerated degradation of the inflator.
 
Just got my notices, too.

Being that it only affects the passenger airbag, I'm in no hurry. Very rarely do I have passengers. Besides, have they cleared up that the replacements are good?
 
Don said:
I received the 'Safety Recall' notice today for both cars - It's for the passenger side airbag and not the drivers though. Time required to do the change is only 0.5 hours
Same here.

Since my closest iMiEV certified dealer is now 100 miles away
Surprisingly, not only did I recently gain a Mitsubishi dealer right in town, but now all the nearby dealers have the green "i" on the national web site. (The two closest ones didn't, before last year.)
 
We had our Takata airbag replaced today at Mark Mitsubishi, took about 45 minutes, a little over the estimate in the notice. But then again, the tech had not done one before. No sweat.
 
Apologies for cross posting: I posted this under the "General" subforum before I found this thread.
Don.... I'll try to delete it from there after posting here, but if not, can you do so?
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Just got the notice. Says my (all?) MiEV passanger side airbags can explode if deployed injuring or even killing passenger. (Googling suggests chance of that is about 2%. Probably less actually. But still scary enough for wife, and me, to have real concerns.)
We used to have a Mitsubishi dealer and service 15 miles away. But the no longer sell or service Mitsubishi. Nearest dealer is 180 interstate miles away. At interstate speeds…even at 55mph, probably not safe to assume more than 50 mile range. Don’t have the fast charge option on ours. So even if we could plot appropriately located charging stations would take like at least 4 hours to recharge. So absolute best case would mean something like 12 to 16 hours driving one way to get to the dealer.
In practical terms, really out of the question.

Anyone else in a similar situation? If so what is or was your solution?

In morning will call Mitsubishi corporate customer service (888-648-7820) and see if they’ll pay for two-way trucking for repair and will even ask for rental of a replacement car while it’s gone. Will see and report back.
Other option might be have them authorizes the local Subaru dealer (who actually has the trained MiEV mechanics still on staff) to do the job.
If no luck with that will, per their notice, complain to National Traffic Safety Administration.
 
FWIW...Here's some text from the National Highway Traffic Safety site hinting at solutions if stuck a long way from a service facility, and it comes down to having your MiEV trucked in for a recall, or rental replacement:

"Remedy
OWNERS OF ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES WILL BE NOTIFIED BY FIRST CLASS MAIL TO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO A MITSUBISHI DEALER FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER WILL REPLACE, FREE OF CHARGE, THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONTAL AIRBAG INFLATOR WITH A NEW, NON-AN BASED INFLATOR. OWNERS SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT FOR ANY EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RECALL WILL BE DIRECTED IN THE NOTIFICATION LETTER TO CONTACT THE MITSUBISHI CUSTOMER RELATIONS DEPARTMENT FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO APPLY FOR A REFUND."
and
"If the manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for your vehicle in a timely manner,
please contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at: 1-888-327-4236 or TTY: 1-800-424-9153 or file an online complaint with NHTSA."
and
"Visit Mitsubishi's website at http://www.mitsubishicars.com or call 1-888-648-7820 for more information."

I'm not TOO happy with the prospect of paying for 360 miles of flatbed trucking out of pocket and then having to "seek reimbursement" from Mitsubishi...... unless there's good reason to trust they'll do so.
 
What do you think about temporarily disabling the passenger side airbag until replaced?
Seems to me, offhand, that the increased risk of injury in a serious accident from no airbag could well be higher than the risk of injury from having one of the bad bags?

Seems to me the risk of disabling the airbag is far greater than the increased risk of having one explode when needed.
http://www.usroads.com/journals/p/rilj/9709/ri970902.htm

And anyhow, any ideas how to disable? Shouldn't be too difficult as, if I remember right, it is only activated when a passenger of over child weight is in that seat? If so must be a sensor under the seat?
 
Putting the risk in perspective (not to say it should be ignored):

This below the dotted line, is from the site --
http://www.consumerreports.org ... not a group known to downplay risks.

Note that the test on 30,000 removed bags (presumably the highest risk bags because recalls were done first on the oldest cars and cars in damp hot climates) works out to a 0.088% chance (let's call that "just below 1%") that any given bag is defective enough to explode. Not unreasonable to assume that newer bags or in cold dry climates are even lower risk.
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"How important is that I respond to the recall?
All recalls, by definition, are concerned with safety and should be treated seriously. As with all recalls, we recommend having the work performed as soon as parts are available and the service can be scheduled. Since age has been established as a key factor in most of the Takata airbag ruptures to date, it’s especially important for owners of older recalled cars to get this work done. All recall work will have to be performed at a franchised dealership. Independent mechanics can't perform recall work.

Does it matter where I live?
According to NHTSA, yes. The Takata inflators seem to be vulnerable to persistent high humidity and high temperature conditions, such as in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, the Gulf Coast states, Hawaii, and island territories. However, since a number of confirmed deaths have occured in places outside the priority recall area, this recall should not be ignored.

NHTSA organizes the American states and territories into three zones, as follows:

Zone A includes Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Zone B includes Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Zone C includes Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

How are repairs being prioritized?
Automakers are getting the replacement parts as fast as they can, and most are sending them to the high-humidity areas first. Northern and less-humid areas might need to wait longer for parts availability, depending on the brand. Contact your dealership to learn how soon the work can be performed. Keep in mind that, while you may not live in or have your car registered in one of the impated or priority zones, if it was previously owned by someone else, it may have spent time in one of them. In cases such as that, it's subject to one of these recalls.

What if I spend only a certain part of the year in a humid climate?
People who travel to the higher-risk areas in times of low humidity (such as snowbirds) are not at the same level of risk as those who live in those areas year-round, according to NHTSA. The agency is working with automakers to prioritize distribution and repairs.

Are the airbags in my car definitely defective?
No. Since 2002 only a very small number of some 30 million cars have been involved in these incidents. Between November 2014 and May 2015, Takata reported to NHTSA that the company had conducted more than 30,000 ballistic tests on airbag inflators returned pursuant to the recalls. In those tests, 265 ruptured. That is an unacceptably high number, and, at 0.8 percent, a far higher frequency than what has been seen so far in vehicles on the road. According to defect reports filed with the government, Takata said that as of May 2015 it was aware of 84 ruptures that had occurred in the field since 2002"
 
acensor said:
In morning will call Mitsubishi corporate customer service (888-648-7820) and see if they’ll pay for two-way trucking for repair and will even ask for rental of a replacement car while it’s gone. Will see and report back.
Other option might be have them authorizes the local Subaru dealer (who actually has the trained MiEV mechanics still on staff) to do the job.
If no luck with that will, per their notice, complain to National Traffic Safety Administration.
I'm curious to hear what they tell you - They haven't been very co-operative with me in the past. When our first car was still under warranty, they used the 'One Time Free Tow' to truck it 110 miles to Pensacola for a recall. No assistance of any kind since then, despite repeated requests

Both my cars need the 'Battery Bolts' recall done (one of them even needs the recall before that one) and they have refused ANY help to get the cars there for either one. Now that this Airbag is a national safety recall, maybe they'll be a little more accommodating?

If not, a friend has a dually and a big equipment trailer to go with it and I'm sure both of our cars will fit on the trailer. We'll probably get him to truck the cars over there and get everything done and the airbags too . . . . but I still feel Mitsu owes me something. My dealer was 15 miles from home until they closed. Now the closest one is on Mobile AL 45 miles away . . . . we could drive the cars there, but they don't service iMiEV's, so it's 110 miles to Pensacola to get anything done

Don
 
" They haven't been very co-operative with me in the past....If not, a friend has a dually and a big equipment trailer to go with it and I'm sure both of our cars will fit on the trailer..."

Well, three notes:
1)There's a phone number on the recall notice daying "if after contacting Mitsu.. you still have a problem getting this repair made promptly and/or without charge you may submit a complaint to the Administraor, NHTSA 888-327-4236 or http://www.safecar.gov .
Hopefully NHTSA would lean on them.
2) So far my contact one level up from the first rep resulted in her saying she'd talk to management and see if they'll arrange transport or whatever, and she'd call me back when she knows. No promised call back date.
I proposed they authorize the former Mitsu local service, who still has Mitsu trained mechanic on staff to do it.
She said, there's no way they'll do that.
3) If they won't do it, I'll get a high end two way trucking quote from a trucking company and take Mitsui to small claims for that plus rental replacement car.


I'll try to remember to report back.
 
Thanks Alex. In this case, MitsuNissan corporate ought to eat it. There's a plethora of third parties that are experienced and certified in airbag replacement. I think this rolls into the "Right to Repair" issue that Tesla owners have had trouble with. There's no legitimate reason that any qualified professional shouldn't be able to do warranty repairs and get paid for it. If a corporation wants to arbitrarily restrict the availability of authorized repair shops, they need to pay the freight on warranty jobs.

I'm experiencing this skittish "not my department" mentality on parts for the OEM electric Ford Ranger that I'm reviving in High School Auto Shop class right now. Every time we need a body part the counterman says "well, if this is for that electric truck....", even though the bodies and interiors are identical, with a couple of very minor modifications. Today that qualifier was raised when seeking plastic clips that secure the bumper valence, and last time it was the window lifting mechanism!
 
Important update...info I got minutes after posting the text below the dotted line:

Talked to the Eugene Oregon Mitsubishi Dealer (Lincoln - Mitsubishi), service guy, Bill.
He's totally on top of it.
He was told that Mitsubishi is going to send him a sufficient supply of replacement bags, round up all 4 iMiEVs in my region, put them all on one auto transporter, haul them all up there for him to do the replacement, and bring them all back down to us owners the next day.
That he would proactively contact us all to coordinate this when ready to go.

Big points in my book for Mitsu doing the right thing, and doing it the smart efficient way.
Only strike against them is I had to call the service department to find this out...That either they didn't keep their regional rep in the loop or she didn't realize it made sense to call me and update me...not leave me hanging.

Alex
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Well, here's the update from my corner (in southern Oregon with nearest authorized repair 175 miles north):
Called Mitsu main customer service number about 10 days ago.
They said regional rep would call me within 48 hours.
She did. Lupe is rep in California and gets to cover west coast.
Gave her the gory details....essence of which was that with no high-speed charge port that drive is not a viable option.
She said she'd check with management to see if they'd propose a solution.
Would not commit to when she'd get back to me, saying that depends on when management got back to her.
That was about 5 days ago.

Today I called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration complaint line.
That's a dead end IMO: The rep there, after I explained the situation, explicitly said the regulations do not require the manufacturer to provide or reimburse transportation costs or rental replacement vehicles in connection with recalls.

So guess I'll rattle the cage with the regional rep, wait a bit more.

If no cooperative viable solution from Mitsubishi, am pondering my plan-B options, as follows:
# Get a quote on having it trucked up there on a flatbed tow or on a commercial auto multi-car transporter, then take them to small claims …try to get a judge to make ‘em pay.
Aside from the PITA factor and some time, not much to lose…Best Mitsui rep doesn’t even show up, worst he/she does and I lose case. No worse than before.
# Complain to BBB and try to embarrass them into a solution. Low chance of success, but less work than small claims.
# See if the Mitsu towing coverage that came with the car would at least cover one way tow to “nearest place repair can be made?
# See if the towing coverage on my auto insurance policy would at least cover one way tow to “nearest place repair can be made?
# Live with the rather small risk of the combination of events during our ownership of the car of (a) an accident resulting a deployment of the airbags, plus (b) a passenger is in the front seat plus (c) us actually having one of the rare seriously defective passenger bags. I can’t readily get the real statistics on “a” nationally, let alone my real risk of a deployment, but I’d have to say it’s got to be less than 1%. So a quick and dirty high end estimate of the composite risk calculates out to 0.004%.
# Disable the passenger side airbag. The preponderance of evidence suggests this is increasing risk more than leaving a remotely suspect airbag active.
# I looked into renting a car hauling trailer and towing it up there. Cost is not totally unreasonable (ignoring fact that I’d have to put a $300 hitch on our 2015 Subaru Forester. But U-haul refuses to rent one attached to our Forester saying their engineers (and policy) say the combo of iMiEV plus their trailer is too much for our Forester.
# Find out if paying out of pocket for two way flatbed transport (175 miles times 2) is a prohibitive as I think. (My guesstimate is at least $800 each way.)
 
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