The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are demanding that airbag manufacturer, Takata Industries along with automobile manufacturer’s BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota, expand their airbag recall to include vehicles beyond the initial geographical areas. This decision comes after a recent driver’s side air bag failure in a vehicle outside the current regional recall area, previous fatalities, and many injuries that have been linked to the problem. Continue reading

Since the 1980’s, the NHTSA has been allowing a type of recall which lets automobile manufacturers restrict notices and repairs to a few states rather than making them nation wide. These “Regional Recalls” are usually due to the defect becoming a problem because of environmental conditions such as hot and cold climates or because of corrosion caused by road salt used in certain areas. Regional recalls can save automakers money, but consumer advocates have complained for years that because people are moving more frequently and driving in many different conditions, affected vehicles can be missed. Continue reading