Ten different automakers have recalled more than 8 million U.S. cars containing the Takata airbags in question. Honda made most of the affected cars, and all of the confirmed deaths happened in Honda cars. The people killed were struck by shrapnel that shot through the airbag, leaving them looking as if they had been shot or stabbed multiple times.
Some automakers initially recalled only cars in high humidity areas of the country under the belief that humidity made the airbag problem worse. Under pressure from NHTSA, the recalls were expanded nationwide. But Takata continued to resist the call for a national recall.
