Massive Takata airbag recall now covers a bunch of supercars
See, the rich really are just like us!
No matter how much money you have in the bank, there's no escaping the Takata airbag inflator recall. It's already claimed tens of millions of cars, and now it's coming for a number of supercars. Gasp!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration added a whole host of expensive cars to the list of vehicles under recall for Takata airbag inflators. The list now includes new and old supercars including the 2012 Lexus LFA, 2017 Audi R8, 2016-2017 McLaren 570S and Ferrari 's entire 2016-2017 lineup. Every Tesla Model S from 2012-2016 is in there, too, as is the McLaren P1 hypercar.
That'll be an embarrassing customer call to make. "Remember that car we just sold you last week? It may kill you. We need it back."
While it's not precisely shocking that expensive cars often carry some components found on cheaper models, it's a little surprising how new some of these cars are. In essence, automakers shipped out cars knowing they would be subject to a future recall, perhaps in part because it was either that or not ship any cars, since replacing a component this vital isn't as easy as calling up another supplier and ordering some new inflators.
Takata's airbag inflators made front-page headlines when it was discovered that the parts, which normally help inflate the airbag during a collision, would instead explode in clouds of shrapnel. Approximately 180 injuries and 11 fatalities have been linked to these parts.
The fault is Takata's -- in the search to save a few dollars, it removed a desiccant (drying agent) from its ammonium nitrate inflators. When exposed to humidity for long periods of time, that moisture turned the inflators into diminutive IEDs. Producing replacement parts is a long process, and not every car under this recall has a replacement part lined up at the moment.
If you're concerned that your car may have a faulty Takata airbag inflator, you can check the full list of affected vehicles on NHTSA's website, which is updated regularly.
