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US agency warns car owners to get air bags fixed

FILE - This Feb. 3, 2010 file photo shows a palm tree behind a Toyota sign at Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Fla. Toyota is recalling 247,000 vehicles in high-humidity areas as an air bag problem that has plagued most of the auto industry continues to widen. The recall covers vehicles in South Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
FILE - This Feb. 3, 2010 file photo shows a palm tree behind a Toyota sign at Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Fla. Toyota is recalling 247,000 vehicles in high-humidity areas as an air bag problem that has plagued most of the auto industry continues to widen. The recall covers vehicles in South Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File) FILE - This Feb. 3, 2010 file photo shows a palm tree behind a Toyota sign at Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Fla. Toyota is recalling 247,000 vehicles in high-humidity areas as an air bag problem that has plagued most of the auto industry continues to widen. The recall covers vehicles in South Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

DETROIT (AP) – A potential crisis over defective air bags widened Monday as the U.S. government issued an urgent plea to more than 4.7 million people to get their cars fixed.

The inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are inflated in crashes.

Safety advocates say at least four people have died from the problem and there have been multiple injuries. They also say more than 20 million vehicles in the U.S. are equipped with the faulty air bags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned people whose cars have been recalled during the past two years for faulty air bag inflators to take them to dealers right away. The inflators are made by Takata Corp., a Tokyo-based supplier of seat belts, air bags, steering wheels and other auto parts. So far, automakers have recalled about 12 million vehicles worldwide because of the problem.

“This message comes with urgency,” NHTSA said in a statement. The agency has been investigating the problem since June, and has cited six related injuries.