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Comment by anotherhue | Hacker News Reader

> The affected models include the 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix, as well as the 2004-2005 RAV4.

The Onion, prophetic as usual: https://www.theonion.com/toyota-recalls-1993-camry-due-to-fa...

Other articles have noted this also affects the 2003 to 2004 Pontiac Vibe, which is essentially a rebadged Toyota Corolla Matrix.

https://apnews.com/article/toyota-takata-air-bag-explode-shr...

My wife had a 2003 Vibe, they were contacting her about the airbag recall years ago. I'm not following why there's an update now? Isn't this the same recall?

I believe these vehicles were made in the same factory as a joint venture between Toyota and GM called NUMMI. There's a This American Life episode about it. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/403/transcript

My 2001 Camry was not affected by this. Hooray.

Or they've calculated that there are few enough 2001 Camrys on the road 22 years later that the risk/reward for them does not justify doing a recall. Hooray?

That's not how that works. If Toyota doesn't do the recall they'll be forced by the NTSB. Recalls are how manufacturers avoid regulators cramping their style.

So Fight Club was not a documentary?

Great movie though. The Norton/Pitt combination worked really well.

I'm pretty sure it's exactly how it works. If the NTSB was some sort of strict regulator who pushed ahead with recalling dangerous parts regardless of the risk and costs, they would have forced Toyota to commit to the recall announced today a decade ago. The risk of aging Takata airbags being explodey if moisture gets in has been a known issue for a very long time.

I assume today's announcement represents some factor in the equation changing. Takata is caught up and can make lower volume parts again? There was an uptick in these older airbags exploding? Some other random political or economic factor? One thing that isn't new is the knowledge that these airbags are dangerous. (to be fair, I have no idea if the 2001 Camry's airbags might have used a completely different technology)

Well, you're wrong.

"A recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle, equipment, car seat, or tire creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards. Most decisions to conduct a recall and remedy a safety defect are made voluntarily by manufacturers prior to any involvement by NHTSA.

Manufacturers are required to fix the problem by repairing it, replacing it, offering a refund, or in rare cases repurchasing the vehicle."

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Section 3 lower on the page.

Even the history of the Takata airbag saga alone is enough to illustrate that plenty of - generously - subjectivity or wiggle room is built into the application of the rules you're quoting on that page. If you were familiar with the history of the thing you'd know that the items which were recalled yesterday have been understood to be dangerous for over 20 years. The first study that showed this design tended to blow up came in the late nineties. Some sort of practical balance in an equation shifted to cause yesterday's recall. There wasn't a new engineering discovery made. Takata airbags using ammonium nitrate sometimes explode when they ignite! Something must be done!

That you've apparently discounted the possibility an American regulatory agency might not be fully living up to its stated principles is adorable, however.

I drive a 1997 acura CL and had the same thought. At first they sent me a letter saying it had to be recalled, then a few months later they said, "upon further review your car is not affected". There are very few of these cars on the road anymore and I'm sure they did the math and found it not worth it to fix.

The car manufacturers did all sorts of maneuvering to cope with the problem of Takata running at full capacity to service the need for replacements. I had something similar with a Toyota I owned, which was on a "everything is fine but some day in the future your car's airbag might be recalled" list. (it eventually was recalled)

It felt great driving that thing.

More likely its affected but Toyota doesnt want to pay for it. Open up your wheel and look at the brand of airbag.

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