Defective airbags installed on new vehicles

Defective airbags installed on new vehicles

Fiat Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volkswagen are selling new vehicles with defective Takata airbags, according to a new report by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-FL), the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee.

It is legal to sell those vehicles, but they will have to be recalled by 2018, the report said. Automakers are not required to disclose that the new cars will need to be recalled.

–Whatês troubling here is that consumers are buying new cars not realizing theyêre going to be recalled,” Nelson said in a statement. –These cars shouldnêt be sold until theyêre fixed.”

Affected models include the 2016-2017 Mitsubishi i-MiEV; 2016 Volkswagen CC; 2016 Audi TT; and 2017 Audi R8.

Part of the problem is that Takata does not have enough replacement inflators to repair the cars already under recall. Some cars that have already been repaired with a temporary fix a newer version of the same part thatês less likely to break down because itês not as worn will need to return later to have the airbag replaced a second time.

NHTSA has said that the recalled vehicles are safe to drive. The biggest problem is in very humid climates and no, that doesnêt mean Washington, DC, in the summer. So the highest priority will be to repair older vehicles in humid southern states.