Government ups air bag warning to 7.8 million vehicles

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government is now urging the owners of nearly 8 million cars and trucks to have the air bags repaired because of a potential hazard.

The government’s auto safety agency says inflator mechanisms can rupture when the bags are deployed, causing metal fragments to fly out.

But car owners might have difficulty determining if their vehicle is equipped with the potentially dangerous air bags.

Most of the 7.8 million vehicles are subject to existing recalls. But manufacturers have limited the recalls to high-humidity areas — excluding cars and trucks in states to the North.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says motorists who should pay special attention to the warning include those in Florida, Hawaii and “limited areas near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana.”

The agency urged people to use its website to see if their cars are affected. But a feature allowing people to check for recalls by vehicle identification number malfunctioned Monday night, and still wasn’t operational today.

%@AP Links

126-v-35-(Jerry Bodlander, AP correspondent)–The government is increasing the number of cars covered by an air bag recall. AP correspondent Jerry Bodlander reports. (22 Oct 2014)

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127-c-27-(Jerry Bodlander, AP correspondent)-“could be affected”-AP correspondent Jerry Bodlander reports the government is increasing the number of cars involved in its air bag warning. (22 Oct 2014)

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APPHOTO NYBZ180: This undated photo provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows a crash test of a 2003 Toyota Corolla, one of the models subject to a recall to repair faulty air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is warning 7.8 million car owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. (AP Photo/Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) (22 Oct 2014)

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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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