Vehicle Owners are Going Years With Unrepaired Recalls

If you have problems with a car you've purchased, an Orange county lemon law attorney can provide you with help in taking appropriate legal action.

Unfortunately, many car owners struggle with getting problems fixed. This includes car owners who have purchased vehicles that have been recalled due to safety issues.  Fox 6 just recently reported, for example, about drivers who had been waiting years to have their potentially dangerous air bags replaced.

Many Vehicle Owners Wait Years for Repairs

According to Fox 6, many drivers received recall notices several years ago alerting them to the fact that their vehicles were equipped with dangerous Takata air bags.  The air bags have problems with their inflator, which can explode violently when collisions occur. This can cause metal shards to fly into the vehicle's passenger seats. The air bags are so dangerous, at least 15 people have been killed and an additional 100 people have sustained injuries because of the exploding air bags.

Upon receiving recall notices alerting them to the dangers, many drivers who contacted their dealerships for repairs were surprised to discover that there would be a long delay in getting the free airbag replacement they were entitled to because of the recall.  The problem is, dealerships do not have the parts to make the repairs.

Fox 6 interviewed one driver who had received a recall notice for a 2008 Ford Edge that she was driving. Because of the risks presented by the air bags, she makes anyone who drives in her vehicle with her sit in the back seat. This makes her feel like she is a taxi driver and is frustrating for her, but she's been unable to get any details on when she can schedule repairs even though she has called the Ford dealership several times to try to schedule an appointment for fixes.

She is far from alone, as there have been an estimated 50 million air bags recalled in the United States and many drivers are still waiting for their fixes.

Takata has filed for bankruptcy, but has been producing replacement kits and has ramped up production to a million kits monthly. Unfortunately, this is still not meeting demand. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered vehicle manufacturers to accelerate their remedying of the problem, but when there are no parts available, there is little that dealers can do. And the problem has been compounded by the fact that the size of the recall has tripled within just the last year alone.  Vehicles from many different manufacturers all have Takata airbags and all of the different dealers are simply left waiting for parts so they can make the repairs that customers are demanding.

Problems getting repairs made is, unfortunately, far too common – especially as the last few years have seen a record number of vehicle recalls. And it is not just drivers whose cars are subject to recalls that have problems. Many motorists with vehicles that turn out to have defects experience difficulty getting car dealers to do the right thing and end up needing to turn to an Orange County lemon law lawyer for help enforcing their rights. If you are experiencing problems, you should consider contacting an attorney to find out about your options.