Owners of Nearly 8 Million Cars Warned to Replace Airbags Immediately

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday warned owners of nearly 8 million cars with potentially faulty airbags to “act immediately” on notices to replace the defective parts, in an alert sent over fears that car owners weren’t getting defective airbags replaced, leaving them at risk of injury or death.

The NHTSA has recommended that owners of 7.8 million Toyota, Honda, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors models replace air bags supplied by Takata. The airbags, which can explode in a flurry of shrapnel even after a minor accident, have caused at least three deaths and more than 100 injuries.

“Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman said in a statement.

A total of more than 14 million vehicles from 11 automakers have been recalled over Takata airbags, most in the last two years, the New York Times reports.