Nissan issues ‘do not drive’ warning over recalled Takata air bags

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged vehicle owners in a Wednesday release to “immediately check to see if their vehicle has an open Takata air bag recall” and immediately contact the company if so. Nissan and its Infiniti subsidiary are offering free towing, repair and, in some cases, loaner vehicles for affected vehicle owners.

The warning reflects the latest fallout from the product safety issues around Takata air bags, which have been the subject of one of the largest recalls in U.S. history after reports of exploding inflaters — small devices that rapidly expand the air bag on impact — that sent bits of shrapnel flying at the driver.

Nissan is the fourth vehicle manufacturer within the past 16 months to issue a “do not drive” warning related to Takata air bags in older vehicles. Last year saw those warnings from Honda, BMW and Stellantis for various models.

Over the past 10 years, more than 67 million Takata inflaters have been recalled in the United States by more than 20 automakers, with more than 100 million air-bag inflaters called back worldwide, according to Reuters. A report from Carfax issued Wednesday found there are more than 6.4 million vehicles in the United States that still have those air bags equipped.

At least 27 people in the United States have been killed by an exploding Takata air bag, NHTSA said. At least 400 more were allegedly injured by exploding Takata air-bag inflaters, the agency said.

Those driving older vehicles are at greater risk, NHTSA said, because the age of the air bag is a “contributing factor” in incidents of failure.

Car owners are being urged to use NHTSA’s lookup tool to search for open safety recalls using their vehicle’s license plate number or vehicle identification number. The agency also has a vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236.