Can you trust a vehicle purchased from CarMax? According to a recent study, perhaps not. Safety advocates looked into eight CarMax locations in three U.S. states and found 461 vehicles with recalled parts that had not been repaired. 41 of those vehicles had no repair available. Perhaps most scary – 45 of the vehicles contained Takata air bag inflators.
Takata Corp., an auto part producer, recently filed for bankruptcy following the largest automotive recall in American history. The company was responsible for producing air bag inflators that have injured hundreds and killed at least 18 people worldwide. The problem revolves around the potential for explosive inflation of the air bags. Environmental moisture, high temperatures and age can lead to this inflation, spraying metal shards throughout the interior of vehicles.
In the past few years, the Takata recall has rapidly ballooned in scope, with the potential to impact more than 42 million vehicles in the United States and over 100 million worldwide.
CarMax Responds
According to CarMax, all potential buyers are warned of open recall notices before signing purchasing papers. But Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, says that disclosure is not enough. He believes the danger some of these cars present may not be fully explained to buyers prior to each sale.
Some members of Congress in recent years have tried to make it illegal to sell used vehicles with open recalls, but aggressive lobbying by auto dealers has prevented a ban from becoming reality.
If you have recently purchased a vehicle from CarMax, you should make sure that yours is not under any recall notice. Your life and the lives of your loved ones could depend on it.
