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jcracken t1_is8ctre wrote

Reply to comment by RockItGuyDC in TIL the first confirmed victim of Takata airbags was 18y/o Parham. As she drove around a car park, she lightly bumped another vehicle making the airbag inflate, sending metal pieces at such tremendous force that one hit the teen’s neck slicing open her carotid artery. She bled to death in her seat by ahm713

There were some stories floating around (anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt) of how the dealerships didn't want to actually do the work to replace the airbags because the payout from OEMs was break-even. So instead a lot of them took in the vehicle, and then let it sit for a few hours before returning it "fixed". If called on it, they could plead ignorance and actually do the procedure then, but almost nobody could actually call them on it because how do you even check?

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thrownaway6990 t1_is9titg wrote

This may have been true in the 90s early 2000s, but the manufacturer I work for requires pictures and verification of number swaps. And if the tech claims he did a job that he didn't do and for whatever reason another tech has to go in behind the first guy and finds the recall wasn't completed as stated. The first tech can have his number suspended and he could lose his job as well as the dealership could lose franchising rights. I only know this because one of our techs had alot of work closed under his number that later came back as incomplete. So now he is on a year long probation and has to have all warranty work signed off on by the shop foreman and service manager. I worked with a couple of old Honda techs who claim that when this recall was in its prime they were going to junk yards to replace any airbags in any totalled vehicles as well so there was no risk of problems later on. Plus the techs got paid pretty well for the work.

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substantial-freud t1_isueb6r wrote

The manufacturer should have warned them: you do this, and anyone dies, it’s felony murder. Carrie’s the death penalty in a lot of states.

(I’m not 100% you could make it stick — most jurisdictions actually list the felonies that are “inherently dangerous” — but these are mechanics not lawyers.)

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