Takata recall: Some drivers get free rental cars, for months – San Francisco Chronicle
Biz & Tech
April 15, two thousand sixteen Updated: April 15, two thousand sixteen 11:20pm
When Sue Ann Calmeyer of Sebastopol got a recall notice about the defective airbag inflator in her Honda Fit last month, she was tempted to throw it aside. Until she read the warning.
It said if the airbag deployed, the inflator could rupture and «metal fragments could pass through the airbag cushion material, possibly causing serious injury or fatality to you or others in the vehicle.»
So Calmeyer determined to take Honda up on its suggest of a free rental car until her Fit can be repaired – which could be in July or later, due to a parts shortage. Her Fit cannot be driven while she has the rental. Albeit she`d rather be driving her Fit, which gets better gas mileage than her rented Nissan Sentra, «I don`t want to be driving in a car if the thing that is supposed to save my life kills me,» she said.
Of the fourteen automakers compelled to recall cars with airbag inflators manufactured by the Japanese company Takata, Honda has the most generous rental-car policy. It also has the most cars subject to the recall – 8.Five million – and the most deaths blamed on the faulty inflators.
On April 7, a 17-year-old Texas woman became the 10th American thought to be killed by exploding shrapnel when her airbag, tooled with a Takata inflator, deployed. Her car, a two thousand two Civic, was subject to the recall. Nine of the ten deaths were in Hondas, one was in a two thousand six Ford Ranger. About one hundred people have been injured in Takata-related incidents.
In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered eleven automakers to recall twenty four million Takata airbag inflators installed in about nineteen million cars sold in the United States. The very first deaths were reported in 2009.
In January, it added three automakers and more cars to the list, which now totals 28.8 million inflators in twenty four million cars, making it the largest recall in U.S. automotive history.
Drivers can find a list of recalled cars at http://1.usa.gov/1gnVNCL. They can also come in their vehicle identification number at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin to see whether it has been recalled. Most of the affected automakers have websites dedicated to the recall.
Only 7.Five million of the cars subject to recall have been repaired so far, because the replacement parts are in brief supply and designed specially for each model. «It`s not like Lego blocks you can fit together,» safety agency spokesman Bryan Thomas said.
The agency has issued a «coordinated remedy order» to make sure the highest-risk cars get motionless very first, Thomas said.
More by Kathleen Pender
The administration believes that the highest-risk inflators are on the driver`s side, in older cars (generally two thousand eight or earlier) and in hot, humid places. Its order puts recalled cars into four priority groups, based on their combination of risk factors. California is not a high-humidity state.
The agency required automakers to send out an initial notice telling customers their cars are subject to recall and a 2nd notice when their cars are ready to be repaired, based on the priority list.
The administration is encouraging automakers to use other means to reach vehicle owners, such as mass advertising and social media. Some are even hiring private investigators, Thomas said. The agency cannot require automakers to provide rental cars, and their practices vary.
Honda`s website says, «If an proprietor requests alternative transportation while awaiting repair, while the repair is in progress, or if there is a delay in repairing an affected vehicle, Honda and Acura dealers are authorized to provide a free loaner or rental vehicle.» It says dealers «may now loan vehicles to teenage drivers, who are generally prohibited from renting or borrowing vehicles due to insurance policies.»
U.S. Honda and Acura dealers have provided over 232,000 loaner and rental vehicles to people affected by the Takata recall since May 2014, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.
Mazda`s website said that when parts are ready, the repair takes about one hour. «If you have received the recall notice, but not the letter to bring in your vehicle to have the inflator substituted, yes, you can request a loaner vehicle,» Mazda spokeswoman Tamara Mlynarczyk said. Mazda has provided 1,234 rental cars under the program.
Toyota`s website doesn`t mention free rentals. Its recall is mainly for passenger-side airbags, spokeswoman Cindy Knight said. «If a customer doesn`t feel safe . they can not seat someone in the front passenger seat. We also have the option of loaning a car until they can get the repair part.»
At Nissan, «we have generally been able to fix anyone who comes in without a delay. If we don`t have the part, if they request a loaner car, we can provide that,» spokesman Steve Yaeger said. A spokesman for Infiniti, wielded by Nissan, said essentially the same thing.
BMW spokesman Hector Arellano-Belloc said, « Subject to availability, alternate transportation is provided when requested by a customer.»
However, at Ford, «We are not suggesting loaner vehicles,» spokesman John Cangany said.
And at Volkswagen, «We are not suggesting alternate transportation at this time,» spokesman Mark Gillies said.
General Motors spokesman Tom Wilkinson said that for «priority group one Pontiac Vibes,» the company offers to pick up vehicles that needed repairing. If customers need alternative transportation, «It would be covered by us.»
However, for the Silverado and Sierra HD pickups, Saab 9-3 and 9-5 and Saturn Astra models, «we believe customers can proceed to drive their vehicles as normal, as neither GM nor Takata has any field reports of ruptures, injuries or deaths in the U.S. or Canada from inflators in the vehicles involved in these recalls,» Wilkinson said.
When the safety agency announced the initial recall in May, it gave Takata until two thousand nineteen to prove that ems of millions of inflators not subject to the recall were safe. Last week, the administration put out a more specific number, telling Takata still needs to prove that eighty five million inflators not already recalled are safe.
Todd Walburg, an attorney with Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in San Francisco who has sued many car companies on behalf of consumers, said he would advise owners of recalled cars «to stop driving the car instantly. Take it to a dealership and request a rental car, because the safety of the holder and their families are at risk. If they don`t provide a rental car, look into legal options» such as petite claims court.
Takata recall: Some drivers get free rental cars, for months – San Francisco Chronicle
Biz & Tech
April 15, two thousand sixteen Updated: April 15, two thousand sixteen 11:20pm
When Sue Ann Calmeyer of Sebastopol got a recall notice about the defective airbag inflator in her Honda Fit last month, she was tempted to throw it aside. Until she read the warning.
It said if the airbag deployed, the inflator could rupture and «metal fragments could pass through the airbag cushion material, possibly causing serious injury or fatality to you or others in the vehicle.»
So Calmeyer determined to take Honda up on its suggest of a free rental car until her Fit can be repaired – which could be in July or later, due to a parts shortage. Her Fit cannot be driven while she has the rental. Albeit she`d rather be driving her Fit, which gets better gas mileage than her rented Nissan Sentra, «I don`t want to be driving in a car if the thing that is supposed to save my life kills me,» she said.
Of the fourteen automakers coerced to recall cars with airbag inflators manufactured by the Japanese company Takata, Honda has the most generous rental-car policy. It also has the most cars subject to the recall – 8.Five million – and the most deaths blamed on the faulty inflators.
On April 7, a 17-year-old Texas dame became the 10th American thought to be killed by exploding shrapnel when her airbag, tooled with a Takata inflator, deployed. Her car, a two thousand two Civic, was subject to the recall. Nine of the ten deaths were in Hondas, one was in a two thousand six Ford Ranger. About one hundred people have been injured in Takata-related incidents.
In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered eleven automakers to recall twenty four million Takata airbag inflators installed in about nineteen million cars sold in the United States. The very first deaths were reported in 2009.
In January, it added three automakers and more cars to the list, which now totals 28.8 million inflators in twenty four million cars, making it the thickest recall in U.S. automotive history.
Drivers can find a list of recalled cars at http://1.usa.gov/1gnVNCL. They can also inject their vehicle identification number at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin to see whether it has been recalled. Most of the affected automakers have websites dedicated to the recall.
Only 7.Five million of the cars subject to recall have been repaired so far, because the replacement parts are in brief supply and designed specially for each model. «It`s not like Lego blocks you can fit together,» safety agency spokesman Bryan Thomas said.
The agency has issued a «coordinated remedy order» to make sure the highest-risk cars get immobilized very first, Thomas said.
More by Kathleen Pender
The administration believes that the highest-risk inflators are on the driver`s side, in older cars (generally two thousand eight or earlier) and in hot, humid places. Its order puts recalled cars into four priority groups, based on their combination of risk factors. California is not a high-humidity state.
The agency required automakers to send out an initial notice telling customers their cars are subject to recall and a 2nd notice when their cars are ready to be repaired, based on the priority list.
The administration is encouraging automakers to use other means to reach vehicle owners, such as mass advertising and social media. Some are even hiring private investigators, Thomas said. The agency cannot require automakers to provide rental cars, and their practices vary.
Honda`s website says, «If an proprietor requests alternative transportation while awaiting repair, while the repair is in progress, or if there is a delay in repairing an affected vehicle, Honda and Acura dealers are authorized to provide a free loaner or rental vehicle.» It says dealers «may now loan vehicles to teenage drivers, who are generally prohibited from renting or borrowing vehicles due to insurance policies.»
U.S. Honda and Acura dealers have provided over 232,000 loaner and rental vehicles to people affected by the Takata recall since May 2014, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.
Mazda`s website said that when parts are ready, the repair takes about one hour. «If you have received the recall notice, but not the letter to bring in your vehicle to have the inflator substituted, yes, you can request a loaner vehicle,» Mazda spokeswoman Tamara Mlynarczyk said. Mazda has provided 1,234 rental cars under the program.
Toyota`s website doesn`t mention free rentals. Its recall is mainly for passenger-side airbags, spokeswoman Cindy Knight said. «If a customer doesn`t feel safe . they can not seat someone in the front passenger seat. We also have the option of loaning a car until they can get the repair part.»
At Nissan, «we have generally been able to fix anyone who comes in without a delay. If we don`t have the part, if they request a loaner car, we can provide that,» spokesman Steve Yaeger said. A spokesman for Infiniti, wielded by Nissan, said essentially the same thing.
BMW spokesman Hector Arellano-Belloc said, « Subject to availability, alternate transportation is provided when requested by a customer.»
However, at Ford, «We are not suggesting loaner vehicles,» spokesman John Cangany said.
And at Volkswagen, «We are not suggesting alternate transportation at this time,» spokesman Mark Gillies said.
General Motors spokesman Tom Wilkinson said that for «priority group one Pontiac Vibes,» the company offers to pick up vehicles that needed repairing. If customers need alternative transportation, «It would be covered by us.»
However, for the Silverado and Sierra HD pickups, Saab 9-3 and 9-5 and Saturn Astra models, «we believe customers can proceed to drive their vehicles as normal, as neither GM nor Takata has any field reports of ruptures, injuries or deaths in the U.S. or Canada from inflators in the vehicles involved in these recalls,» Wilkinson said.
When the safety agency announced the initial recall in May, it gave Takata until two thousand nineteen to prove that ems of millions of inflators not subject to the recall were safe. Last week, the administration put out a more specific number, telling Takata still needs to prove that eighty five million inflators not already recalled are safe.
Todd Walburg, an attorney with Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in San Francisco who has sued many car companies on behalf of consumers, said he would advise owners of recalled cars «to stop driving the car instantaneously. Take it to a dealership and request a rental car, because the safety of the holder and their families are at risk. If they don`t provide a rental car, look into legal options» such as petite claims court.