WGNO

8 million cars under recall for airbags; Louisianans could be at higher risk

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)–Nearly eight million American cars are now under recall over defective airbags, with four deaths blamed on the issue.  Now a criminal investigation is underway to see if Takata Industries, which manufactured the parts in facilities in Washington state and Mexico, mislead federal safety regulators.

The defective airbags have been installed in vehicles from BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Mitsubishi.

For those of us here in Louisiana, more concerns:   National Highway Traffic Safety Administration now says there’s an immediate risk “in areas that have consistently hot, humid conditions over extended periods of time.”

The NTHSA has set up a web page for car owners to see if their vehicle is at risk by entering the car’s VIN code.  You can find that page at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/.