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KHOU News Report Featuring Kyle Farrar: Unprecedented NHTSA Report Finds Defective Takata Airbags Pose ‘Grave Danger’

Farrar & Ball’s Kyle Farrar spoke with KHOU TV Ch. 11 about new developments in the unprecedented Takata airbag recall, including the announcement by the U.S. government that certain Honda and Acura cars and SUVs pose such a “grave danger” that owners should immediately stop driving them until they can be fixed.

The June 30 plea from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) applies to approximately 313,000 vehicles, including 2001 to 2002 Honda Civic and Accord, the 2002 to 2003 Acura TL, the 2002 CR-V and Odyssey, and 2003 Pilot and Acura CL models.

The urgent warning is based on new testing data that found rupture rates as high as 50 percent, with ruptures more likely in areas of high humidity like Texas and the Gulf Coast. “The air bag inflators in this particular group of vehicles pose a grave danger to drivers and passengers that must be fixed right away,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement.

Farrar tells KHOU that many owners of older vehicles don’t have the luxury to simply stop driving a car until dealers can obtain the backlogged parts to replace the airbag modules.

“That’s obviously the best advice” Farrar says. “I don’t know how practical that advice really is.”

As a result, manufacturers and dealers must do a better job reducing the wait time for repairs.

Houston-based Farrar & Ball is actively representing motorists who have been injured by defective Takata airbag explosions. The trial team has extensive experience investigating dangerous automotive products and has secured record verdicts and settlements on behalf of victims.

“It’s dangerous,” Farrar says. “Fifty percent of these that go off are going to be over-pressurized. And if they are, they’re going to hurt you.”

Vehicle owners should immediately visit www.SaferCar.gov  to check whether their vehicle has any outstanding safety recalls. Those that do should contact their nearest dealer to schedule a no-cost immediate repair.

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