At a glance
If you think your car could be in the recall, local service departments advise:
• Go to the manufacturer’s website and find the area dealing with the recall and enter your vehicle identification number (VIN) as directed. That will tell you if your car is affected.
• Call the dealership where you bought the car, but again have your VIN ready and they will check it for you.
• As long as you purchased the car in the U.S., call any dealership that sells that make of car and give them your VIN. They can check it for you.
• You can also wait until you get a recall notice, then call your dealership. However, recall notices do not always reach the current car owner.
Local car dealerships are starting to see some people bringing their cars in to have their air bags fixed following an expansion of the recall.
Basney Honda in Mishawaka is seeing about five vehicles a day while Gurley Leep Honda in Elkhart has seen “a handful,” said Gary Soth, service adviser, there.
Others, though, such as Gates Toyota in South Bend and Gates Chevy World in Mishawaka are hardly seeing any.
The original recall in October of cars with faulty air bags was mainly directed at vehicles in Southern states with hot and humid climates. It is expected to include all 50 states soon, though, after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration demanded Tuesday that millions of additional cars equipped with the faulty air bags that have injured and even killed a few people be replaced.
During crashes the air bags inflate and send metal fragments into the driver or passenger compartments. Japan-based Takata Corp., the manufacturer of the air bags, has said that prolonged exposure to moisture can cause the air bag propellant to burn faster than designed, causing the the problem.
John Walsh, service manager at Basney Honda in Mishawaka, said he’s been fairly busy with the recall already but expects more after NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman announced plans to amp up the recall. The dealership mainly needs one’s vehicle identification number to check if it’s in the recall, he said.
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