Federal safety officials have expressed concerns that drivers of older cars, may be in danger.
The problems are part of a massive Takata airbag recall.
Brand new data has federal officials desperately trying to reach owners of older car like this one:
Pictured above is what’s left of a 14-year-old Honda Civic after a collision in March.
When the airbag exploded, teen Huma Hanif, was killed.
“With this new data, we know how bad it could really be. Literally flipping a coin in a crash, you don’t know if you could end up having the shrapnel coming at you,” said NHTSA Administrator, Mark Rosekind.
The NHTSA estimates there are 300,000 of these older cars on the road that have not yet been repaired.
Notifications have been sent, but some owners haven’t followed up.
New tests of the older cars with Takata airbags found that when people drove them in hot, damp places, the inflators malfunctioned, causing an explosion that sent shrapnel flying.
In lab tests, the inflators ruptured 50-percent of the time.
Many cars in this new warning have been recalled since 2008.
Honda says 70-percent have been repaired.
Visit the NHTSA website to check whether your car is at risk of having faulty airbags.