Too many Takata airbags still on the roads

The Takata airbag recall is four years old, yet one in six cars is still on the road with what the government says are very dangerous airbags. 

The biggest automotive recall in history was a hot topic then we sort of stopped talking about it. And that's a bad thing. Sixteen people have died, according to NHTSA, from a Takata airbag explosion. One of those was just reported this year.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says millions of autos with the impacted Takata airbags are still on the highway.

Actor Morgan Freeman is featured in a new public service announcement from www.safeairbags.com reminding us to check our VINs against what is in the government database. With 18 years worth of cars impacted - that's about 40 million of them from more than 30 different brands - we should all take a second look. Morgan Freeman explains in the PSA video.  

"Let me explain just how serious this is. You see, a part in these defective airbags can explode shooting sharp metal fragments at people inside the vehicle. This could occur no matter what caused the airbag to deploy."

If that doesn't rattle you then I don't know what will. Let me walk you through how easy it is to check on this.

Go to the NHSTA website: VIN INPUT.   Put in your vehicle's identification number in there and you'll find out quickly enough if it's part of the recall.  I randomly selected a car online for sale and found it is under recall and due for repairs, according to the government site.

So this is a great tool if you are a vehicle owner or if you are car shopping. Check out it's recall status.