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Everything you need to know about the latest Takata airbag inflator recall

The federal government announced Wednesday that Takata, the Japanese air bag inflator  manufacturer, will be recalling another 35 million to 40 million inflators, more than doubling what already is the largest automotive recall in American history.

The recall expansion would bring to as many as 69 million the total number of inflators to be replaced. Regulators say that could take until the end of 2019 to complete, according to a statement issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The inflators have been found to have a defect that causes the airbags to explode, sending metal shards into the person sitting in front of them.

The models and number of cars and trucks included in the expanded recall were not immediately released, but will be posted on NHTSA's website in the coming weeks, according to officials.

Here’s what  we know now about the original recall and what you need to do to find out if your vehicle is involved.

Is my car affected by the recall?

Here's how you check – first, get your car's VIN number. That identification number is located on the lower driver-side corner of the windshield. It will also be on your car's registration form.  Go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site (click here), and type in that number.

What do I do next?

If your car is on the list, contact a dealership that repairs your make and model – there will be no cost to you to make these  repairs.

Should I just try to explode the bag myself?

No. Do not do that.

I’m scared to drive it, what do I do?

Not a lot of options here. If your car is on the list for passenger-side air bag problems, don’t let anyone sit in the passenger seat.  If you can, let the tallest person drive the  car. Shorter people have to sit closer to the steering wheel, thus the airbag.

I hear it’s taking a long time to get the repair, why?

The answer is sheer numbers. It may take weeks, months or even years for the replacement part to be installed because of the numbers under the recall.

Is it really that important? 

There have been 11 deaths connected to the air bag inflators. The fault in the inflators can lead to shards of metal being shot out of the air bag casing, sending them flying into the person sitting in front of the bag. The age of the car seems to make a difference with the problem, so owners of older cars should not put off getting the fix.

What’s the deal with where I live?

According to NHTSA, the Takata inflators seem to be vulnerable to high humidity and high temperature conditions. Cars that are owned by people who live in the Southeast, Hawaii, and island territories may be at higher risk for exploding air bags. High humidity areas are seeing repairs before other parts of the country.

If I’m on the list, does that mean my airbags are bad?

No. Only a small number of airbags have ruptured. After finding out about the problem, Takata tested 30,000 bags and had 265 rupture  because of the inflator problem. That ratio is high in car safety standards, and triggered the original recall.

For more information  about the recall,  Sign up for the NHTSA e-mail list for direct notifications.