The Takata Airbag Recall Is Now a Full-Blown Crisis

As the recall of Takata airbags has been expanded to nearly 70 million vehicles in the U.S., and 100 million worldwide, many owners of vehicles are getting the word that they will have to wait months to get their cars fixed with potentially life-saving airbags.

Of the 70 million recalled, only about 8 million have been replaced. U.S. regulators have estimated that the fixes could take two years to complete.

Honda HMC -1.68% is at the center of the recall, with some 10 million Honda and Acura cars recalled, but the recall includes at least 14 major car makes, including Toyota TM -1.09% , Ford F -0.37% , Mazda MZDAY -2.85% , BMW bmw-hm and Audi AUDVF 0.44% . (See the complete list of recalled vehicles here.)

The largest safety recall in America’s history, it has drawn the ire of safety advocates and Congress. Sean Kane, founder and president of Safety Research and Strategies, a research and consulting firm that studies recalls and product safety, says automakers are to blame for not responding to early signs of problems with the Takata airbags.

“Honda in particular, though it is not limited to Honda, was Takata’s enabler on this as their biggest customer,” Kane said, charging, “Honda had ample information going back years before NHTSA got involved to have red-flagged this problem for the industry.”