GM Avoiding Takata Recalls For Fourth Straight Year

For the fourth straight year, GM has avoided recalling vehicles with Takata air bags in thousands of pickups and SUVs. Many owners of GM vehicles are concerned that their vehicles may be unsafe. Takata air bags have inflators that can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel flying throughout the vehicle. So far, 24 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured. Almost 69 million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S. alone because of the issue.

GM petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to exempt it from recalls required under a 2015 agreement between Takata and the federal government. GM claims that the inflators in its vehicles are unique to GM and are safe. It points out that almost 67,000 of the air bags have deployed and none have exploded.

If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires the company to do the recalls, it will have to spend about $1.2 billion repairing over six million vehicles, which is over half the profit the company had in its most recent quarter.

Takata, the company which made the air bags, has claimed that GM’s inflators are also defective. Many GM owners are wondering if their vehicles are safe, and why the federal government is taking so long to rule on GM’s petitions, the first of which was filed in May 2016.

It remains to be seen whether GM will be forced to issue a recall like many other automobile manufacturers. If you have been harmed because of a defective vehicle, you have the right to compensation from the vehicle’s manufacturer. We can help. Call us today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.