Ford, Honda, Chrysler Add Millions of Vehicles to Faulty Air Bag Recall

Takata-made air bags in a junkyard. Photo: Reuters

Car owners are beginning to find out if their cars or trucks are included in a big expansion of a recall of air bags made by Takata Corp.

Automakers, as well as Canadian and U.S. safety regulators, are posting documents that spell out the vehicles being recalled to replace air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, spewing shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

Six people have been killed and more than 100 injured due to the problem.

Last week the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that Takata of Japan agreed to double the number of inflators it recalled to 33.8 million. But the makes and models were not available. The increase made it the largest auto recall in U.S. history, according to the agency.

The best way to tell if your car or truck is being recalled is to key in the vehicle identification number at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/. The number is stamped on the driver’s side of the dashboard near the windshield and also is on many state registration cards. Automakers are still posting recall information by number, and the task may take several days or even weeks. So it’s wise to keep checking periodically.