There's been a lot of publicity about the recalled defective Takata air bags, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been encouraging consumers to get their air bags fixed. (Under the law, recall repairs are free.)
According to NHTSA, 8,867,284 Takata air bags have been fixed. That's a lot of air bags. And it's fair to assume that these repairs have prevented deaths and injuries.
But that number comprises only about half of all defective Takata driver-side air bags and fewer of the defective passenger-side air bags. It's hard to know why more have not been fixed. In some cases, I'd guess, consumers don't follow through after getting the recall notice. But that doesn't seem to be the only problem. I got a recall notice and was told to call a dealer to get the repair done. But the dealer did not have enough of the replacement parts in stock. So, I'm on a wait list.
Go here. and then click on the bubbles for details about the recall's progress.